Everything We Are
by Kadi219
Summary: Raydor/Flynn - Third in a small series of stories. Follows "Everything She Does" & "Everything He Is". In life there are twists and turns. Many of them are unexpected, and even unlikely. There are those which are entirely unrealistic. It's how we approach the curves that life throws in our path that define us. With this family, it's no different. Rated M for content of later parts.
1. Chapter 1

Everything We Are

by Kadi

Rated: M

Disclaimer: It's not my sandbox, I'm only visiting for a time.

**A/N:**Third in a small series of stories following: _Everything She Does_ & _Everything He Is_. As stated when I began writing the first one, I completely agree that the likelihood of babyfic in this fandom is entirely unlikely. This was posed to me as a challenge, and I took it on to see if I could. Whatever our creative element, I believe that it is always important to try new things, to stretch ourselves to the very limit of what we are capable of and then see if we can keep going. So, to the ladies who have continued to challenge me, **deenikn8**, **kate04us**, and **lontanissima** thank you so much, and this one is for you!

I hope that others will enjoy this. For those who do not, my deepest apologies, and I hope you'll come back to my other works soon! :)

To **deenikn8** as always, thank you so much for the beta! Any mistakes found are all mine!

For **lontanissima** thank you so much for being my sounding board while I was writing this. Much love!

**Warning:** Rating is for adult material found in later chapters, I did not fade to black this time.

* * *

"Runaway baby!"

The cry was rather familiar in the Flynn household. From the moment that he could crawl, Ian Flynn had demonstrated a singular propensity for escaping. It took only a second. One of his beloved adults could turn their attention for even a fraction of a heartbeat, and he was gone. The first time he did it, he terrified his father by crawling up the first two steps of the staircase. The next afternoon, Andy installed baby gates at the top and bottom of the stairs, and in practically every door and entryway which didn't have a door that could be closed.

When he began walking, it only became more of an adventure. Ian would toddle away from whomever was watching him, full of squeals and delighted laughter. Running away at bath time was of particular interest to him.

Never before his bath… always after.

The pitter-patter of Ian's damp, two-year-old feet could be heard down the hall. He squealed happily as he ran from the bathroom, completely naked. His dark hair was sticking up at all ends, but running the towel over his hair was as far as anyone had gotten before he made true his escape.

Upon spotting his favorite brother, Ian thrust his arms into the air and ran toward him. "Rutthy!"

He had moved out almost six months ago, but Rusty came by several times a week, and every Sunday. At twenty, he was just too old to be living at home any more. His _parents_ were sad to see him go, and if there was one thing he missed most, it was the evening routine with Ian. He still saw him plenty, and babysat often. As they'd all promised when Rusty first broached the topic of moving into his own place on Campus… moving out hadn't changed anything, just his physical address.

Rusty caught Ian under his arms and lifted him like a football. He twisted him upside down, much to the boy's delight and arched a brow at Sharon who was coming down the hall after him. He flashed a crooked grin. It was Rusty who had given the usual warning that Ian was on the loose. "Looking for this?"

"Yes." Sharon heaved an exasperated sigh, that only just bordered on amusement. When she slipped on a damp spot in the hall, she caught herself and shook her head. It had been a long day and she was utterly exhausted. She held out the towel and waited for Rusty to place Ian in her arms. Her rambunctious toddler was engulfed completely in its fluffy softness. "You are," she told him, "your father's son." Sharon shook her head at him. He was grinning up at her with an expression that could only be described as a hundred percent Flynn. He was the very image of his father, in her opinion. Yes, he had her lighter complexion and his dark hair had more golden and red tones than brown, but he was Andy in every other way… especially the mischief. He had inherited his father's penchant for trouble.

Her hair was pulled up into a loose and messy ponytail. She wore a pair of yoga pants and a long sleeve t-shirt. She looked tired, Rusty realized. "I can put him down, if you like," he offered. "I brought dinner, it's down in the kitchen."

"Rusty." Sharon turned an exaggerated, if affectionate look on him. "I told you not to stop for dinner. I was going to cook." She shifted Ian in her arms when he reached up to catch the dark tendrils of hair which were escaping her pony tail and play with them. She blew a lock of hair out of her face and peered down at her youngest child. "Cuteness will not save you, Mr. Flynn."

He recognized her tone all too well, and just like his father, he lay his head against her shoulder and fluttered his lashes at her. "Mama… no bed."

His lips turned down into an adorable little pout, but she would not be swayed. "Yes," she bent and kissed the top of his head. "You are most definitely going to bed."

"Come on," Rusty reached for him. "We'll do two stories, just because I'm cool like that." He lifted the toddler over his shoulder, much to the boy's squealing amusement. "I stopped for dinner because it's late, and you sounded tired." He bounced Ian on his shoulder, making him squeal and laugh again. "Where's Andy?"

"He had to go and pick Zack up and take him to a meeting," she sighed tiredly. She was so proud of her husband and his accomplishments in sobriety, but she never understood the commitment he was making in becoming a sponsor until it happened. Not that she would begrudge him that, or the young man who needed his help. They'd had a lot of late nights recently, and just when it looked like they might catch a break, they got another case instead. They were both tired, and perhaps, just lately, they were feeling their ages. Sharon ran a hand over her hair. "I'll tell you about it when you come downstairs. Ian." Rusty walked past her and then turned so that Ian was facing her. "Night baby."

"Night-night mama." He puckered his lips expectedly.

She laughed and captured his face in her hands, then peppered his face with kisses until he was giggling again. "Thank you, honey," she said to Rusty as he carried his brother away. She waited until they disappeared into Ian's room before she made her way back downstairs. Knowing her son as she did, she was sure to secure the gate at the top of the stairs. Sharon retrieved her phone as she strode through the living room toward the kitchen. The dinner that Rusty brought was still in two paper bags on the center island. She pulled down plates and took out silverware before sliding onto a stool at the island. She checked her phone first and a small smile curved her lips when she found a text from Andy.

"_Going to be another hour. Don__'__t wait up. Love you._"

Tired though she was, her heart still filled with the thrill at seeing or hearing those words. Even now, after two years of marriage, it still had the ability to make her stomach flutter with anticipation. The time stamp on the text put it at half an hour ago, about the time she had started wrangling Ian toward his bath. Sharon smiled as she replied. "_Rusty brought dinner. Of course I__'__m waiting up. Love you too._" They'd had their share of petty, marital squabbles, but they always talked it out and made up in the end.

With the text sent, Sharon set about pulling dinner out of the bags Rusty brought. She found pasta and vegetables and a fragrant garlic bread that made her mouth water. There were three distinct containers and she spotted Andy's easily enough. Roast peppers, zucchini and pasta in in a pomodoro sauce, sprinkled with parmesan cheese. Sharon got up and placed it, and Rusty's dinner, in the oven to stay warm. Hers was very similar, only with shrimp. Sharon moved around the kitchen and retrieved two bottled waters. She also found that Rusty had gotten salads. There were only two of them, and she knew her boy. Neither of them were intended for him. She placed Andy's in the fridge and returned to her seat. Suddenly she was famished.

Ordinarily she would have waited for Rusty, but eating meals together as a family was a rare and precious commodity. Especially when she knew that it might take him a little while to get Ian down for the night. While she ate, Sharon broke one of her own rules. She opened her computer and began working. Time sheets were due again and there was an abysmal amount of overtime for her to fight for having paid.

She was still working, eating sparsely while she did, when Rusty came back downstairs. He shook his head as he walked past her toward the oven. "Busted." He took his dinner out and joined her at the island. "Mini-Flynn is asleep." Rambunctious and wild, but the moment he'd gotten still, he was out like a light.

"Thank you," she sighed with some relief and closed the laptop. She leaned her chin in her hand and watched him eat. "So, what's up?" It wasn't like him to come by so late during the week. Yes, he was in and out often, for which she was so thankful, but just to swing by wasn't something that he did at this time of night.

Rusty suppressed a smile. Sharon _always_ knew _everything_. "Why does something have to be up? Maybe I just wanted to drop in and say hey?"

His eyes sparkled with mischief and she rolled her eyes at him. "Okay then," Sharon said, but her brow arched knowingly. "Hey."

He lowered his gaze to his plate and pushed his food around for a moment. "I was thinking of taking some time off school. Like, just the semester. I could go back in the spring. There's this job at the Mayor's office, and it's just through the election. My advisor said that I'd get credit for it."

"I see." She tilted her head at him. There was a part of him that was asking permission, but for the most part she knew that Rusty was only looking for a sounding board. It was something he wanted, but he wasn't sure it was the right thing to do. Her lips pursed and she fought back the sudden sting of tears. There were just no words for how proud she was of him. The Rusty Beck of four years ago wouldn't have cared about school, jobs, or what anyone thought of his choices. He wouldn't have weighed the pros and cons of his actions. He would have acted first and thought about it later. They had worked very hard to suppress that instant Fight or Flight response of his. This was the result, her bright, beautiful, young man. The child of her heart. "What do you think?"

He made a face at her. Rusty hated it when she always went with that first. It was just so _Sharon_, though. "It's kind of awesome, yeah? I mean, it's sort of a big deal. I feel like if I don't do it, I'm going to regret it. But then I'm worried that I'll regret losing a semester of school."

"That's always the risk that we take," Sharon explained. "We have to weigh the good with the bad, but in the end, we need to do what is best for us with these kinds of choices. You'll lose a semester of school, but you're getting college credit for the job, at the same time, it _is_ an amazing opportunity. If you get it."

"I did." Rusty looked at her through his lashes. "I interviewed twice already, and they called me this afternoon. It's mine, if I take it. I have to let them know by the end of the week. I applied to get extra credit for my Political Theory class, I didn't think they'd actually _call_ me. I mean, come on… Sharon, really? With my past? Who in their right mind would ever consider asking _me_ to be anywhere near a political campaign."

"Oh Rusty." Her heart ached for him sometimes. "Who wouldn't want you? Your past is full of some terrible and unfortunate things, but you were a child. Much of it is sealed, and it was sealed as your having been a juvenile witness. Rusty, think about what we're talking about. Think about all the things that you've accomplished over the last four years, and then ask yourself, isn't that someone you would hire? Doesn't that show the kind of determined and hard working individual that you would want to know?" Sharon reached across and touched his hand. It wasn't overt, just a faint brushing of her fingers over his before she withdrew it.

"You might be a little biased," he said, smiling crookedly at her. "What do you think I should do?"

"I can't tell you that." She smiled warmly at him. "This is a decision that only you can make. I think you need to follow your heart. You need to do what is best for you. If that's this job, then take it, Rusty. If it isn't, then don't. Either way, I will still be proud of you."

Rusty looked down at his plate. He felt the warmth flushing his face. It always felt unreal when she said these kinds of things to him. Even though he knew that she meant them, always. Sharon wasn't his mom, but she was still his mother. At the same time, it was something that he needed to hear. It made it a little easier to accept the choice he was leaning toward. "Okay," he said after a moment and nodded. "I'm… I'm going to take it," Rusty said. He exhaled and smiled. "Cause, you know, it turns out I couldn't actually _be_ a witness for the rest of my life, and I need to do something when I finally grow up. This is going to look good on a resume."

"It is." Sharon smiled brightly at him. "For what it's worth, I think you're making the right choice. I wouldn't normally advocate leaving school, but I agree, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and that you're getting college credit for it only makes it that much better. Congratulations, honey."

"Thanks." He let out a relieved breath and shook his head. "I think I already knew what I was going to do, I just kind of needed to hear all that."

"I understand," she said warmly. It was amazing to her, that of her four children, it was the child of her heart that was the most like her, rather than any of the children she had borne. Ian was still so young, it was hard to say who he was going to become. There was so much of Andy in him, however, that she could only hope to temper it some. Rusty didn't know what kind of career he wanted when he finished school, and at only twenty, that was just fine. He was interested in History and Social studies. Whatever he chose, she knew that he would be amazing. "Enjoy these years, Rusty. They won't come again. Explore, take chances - within reason, of course."

"Of course." He smirked at her. "I will, Sharon. I know how lucky I am. I just don't want to do the wrong thing because I'm trying so hard to do _everything_, you know?"

"I do," she said. "You can't be afraid to make mistakes, Rusty. It's how we learn."

"Right." He nodded. "Plus, you'll always be there to kick my butt back on track, yeah?"

"Absolutely." Sharon smiled brightly at him. "Now, eat your dinner, before it gets cold."

Rusty rolled his eyes at her but made a great show of shoveling a large bite into his mouth. "You too."

Her eyes narrowed but she pulled her plate closer. Sharon lifted her fork again but gave him a pointed look. Simple manners could not be ignored. When he grinned at her, and then laughed, Sharon gave up. Ultimately, she was outnumbered. She was surrounded by stubborn, strong-willed males.

They were still sitting there when Andy got home half an hour later. Their plates were pushed aside, and they were still chatting quietly. Sharon appeared to be working, more or less, in between conversing with Rusty. With her hair a mess and her glasses perched on the tip of her nose, she was utterly adorable, Andy thought.

"Hey babe." He loosened his tie as he walked into the kitchen. His jacket was already discarded across the back of the sofa in the living room. His back and neck ached with tension and fatigue, and there was a pain beginning behind his eyes that spoke of too little sleep. Still, Andy stopped beside his wife and cupped the back of her head. He bent and pressed a kiss to her lips. "Something smells good."

"Hm." She smiled against his mouth. "Rusty brought dinner from the bistro over on fifth. I put yours in the oven." Sharon curled a hand around his wrist. She tugged him down onto the stool beside her, even as she stood. "You look exhausted."

"Yeah." He resisted. Instead, Andy pressed her back into her seat. "Stay there, I'll get it." He kissed the top of her head as he moved past her. "Hey kid." Andy tapped his shoulder as he rounded the island and headed for the oven. He took his dinner out and retrieved a bottled water from the fridge before rejoining them at the island.

"How is Zack?" Sharon slipped her glasses off and closed the computer again, giving him her full attention.

"Trying to climb his way back out," Andy ran a hand over his face and into his hair before he set about pushing his food out of the tin container and onto his plate. The young man he was sponsoring was barely thirty-two, but trying hard to turn his life around. "It's a process. He's trying, that's all anyone can ask for at this point."

"I know." She rubbed his arm. Sharon did, all too well. She had lived that with Jack, and then to a certain extent, with Andy from her vantage point in FID. "He's lucky to have you," she said, and meant it. Sharon stood up and gathered her laptop and glasses. She carried them to the living room, to place next to her purse, and plugged her phone back into the charger. When she returned, Rusty was beginning to clean up while Andy ate. "Oh, Rusty leave that. I'll get it."

"No, it's okay." He carried their plates to the sink and began rinsing and loading the dishwasher. "I need to be getting out of here. It's late, and I think you could both stand to crash. You look like… not good," he smirked.

"Oh, thank you," Sharon rolled her eyes at him. "I can't tell you how much this means to us," she drawled sarcastically.

"That's me," Rusty chirped. "Always looking out for the old people in my life."

Andy rolled his eyes toward Sharon and gave her a bland look. "Do something with your son."

"Oh no," she pointed at him. "When he's sarcastic and full of crap he's all yours. My Rusty is the sweet and considerate one that makes good choices and doesn't give his parents crap about their much more advanced ages."

Her husband blinked at her. "Uh huh. For the record, lady, he gets it all from you."

"Okay," Rusty closed the dishwasher and dried his hands. "Before you two get too far into the foreplay, I'm getting out of here." He tossed the towel onto the counter and stopped beside Sharon. "Thanks. I'll call them tomorrow and make it official."

"See that you do," she smiled warmly at him. "Let me know when it's done so that I can begin sufficiently bragging."

"Yeah, whatever." Rusty rolled his eyes at her. Still not one for great bouts of affectionate display, he nudged her shoulder and walked toward the door. "Night, Sharon. Andy."

"Kid." Andy tilted his head at his wife, and shrugged when she just shook her head.

She waited until she heard the front door open and close again before reclaiming her seat at the island. "He's taking a job with the Major's office, working on the campaign. It's just through this next semester, and he gets credit for it. I think he was looking for approval, his mind was already made up."

Andy reached for his water and took a deep swig. "What did you tell him?" He asked after.

"That it was his decision, and either way, I would be proud of him." She smiled knowingly. "What did you think I'd tell him?"

"Keep his ass in school, and steer clear of the bureaucratic bull crap," Andy snarked. "You're really going to endorse that? You're letting him drop out of school?"

Sharon smiled serenely and stood up. "I am." She walked around the kitchen, straightening up, even though it was practically spotless. "It's only a single semester, and it's an excellent opportunity for him. It's going to look great on his resume, and if this is really something that he's interested in, he should explore it. Frankly," she smiled at him, entirely too sweetly, "I'm more concerned with why _you_ have such an issue with it."

"You're kidding me right?" He flashed an incredulous look at her. "We're shelling out an arm and a leg for tuition and that campus apartment and he's going to blow off a semester to go hang out with the bozos at City Hall?"

She chose to ignore his grousing over what it was costing them to put Rusty through school, since it wasn't as if it was a hardship, and it had been Andy's idea that they pay for the apartment rather than allowing Rusty to get a job. He wanted him focused on his schoolwork. Because she knew that the underlying issue was that he wanted him to do well, she suppressed her own irritation at her husband and leaned against the counter across from him. "At the end of the day, does it really matter which decision he makes as long as it makes him happy? This is something he really wants to do, Andy. Would you rather he live a life with even more regrets?"

Andy scowled at her. She would play that card. "Of course not." He sighed. Andy ran a hand over his face. "I just don't want him to feel like he's been left behind again, by losing an entire semester."

"He won't." She walked around the counter and leaned in to him. When his arm curled around her waist she dropped a kiss to his mouth. "He's going to be okay. Rusty knows what he wants. He might still need a little help going after it, or realizing it, or even believing that he deserves it…. but he knows."

"You've got this parent thing down, don't you?" Andy grinned up at her.

Sharon laughed. She had her fair share of doubts and insecurities when it came to her parenting ability. "Hardly. They're all different. Take yours for example… Nicole is an absolute darling, but I never know from one minute to the next if Nathan is going to like me or not." His eldest son was a bit of a wildcard. He was coming around toward having something to do with his father, slowly. His stepmother and half-brother was another matter. Nathan seemed to have issues with his father starting over with a new family. They were talking now, at least. It had taken two years for him to even want to meet his father's new family. "At least he no longer believes I'm a highly rated and priced escort."

Andy snorted and began to laugh. "Yes, well, small favors and baby steps." His hand landed against her bottom in a playful swat. "I'd still pay for you," he teased.

"Thank you for that." She curled her arms around his shoulders. "I'm going to go up. Don't be too long."

"Are you kidding?" He winked at her. "I'm right behind you babe." Andy's arm dropped when she turned to leave the kitchen. "Which just happens to be my favorite place," he drawled. The look she shot him just made him grin that much wider. Andy cleared away the remaining dishes and followed at a more sedate pace. He turned off all the lights, checked all the doors, and armed the alarm before he made his way up the stairs. At the top of the second floor, he secured the baby gate and moved quietly down the hall. Ian's door was cracked open and he pressed it inward quietly to check on his son. The boy was laying in his toddler bed, knees drawn under him and bottom in the air. Andy shook his head and chuckled quietly. He walked in and picked the blankets which had been strewn half across the floor and draped them over him again. On the small bedside table, the nightlight turned slowly, casting the room in soft shades of blue and green, in the shapes of stars and planets. Andy dimmed it to its lowest setting before he bent over the two-year-old and smoothed dark hair back from his forehead. "Night buddy," He whispered quietly, and then withdrew silently from the room.

In the large bedroom across the hall, Sharon had already changed and was turning back the bed. Andy walked over to the closet and toed out of his shoes before stepping into the bathroom to do likewise. When he returned, he had his gun and badge in hand. He dropped the badge onto the dresser and the gun went into the lock box in the top of the closet, beside his wife's. In the past they'd have left them on the dresser, but Ian was far too mobile and inquisitive now. Locking them up might not be convenient, but it wasn't a hardship.

He turned and admired his wife for a moment. She sat on the edge of the bed, running a brush through her dark hair. Andy moved to join her and winced. "Son of a bitch!" He grabbed the frame of the closet and lifted his now stinging foot. He scowled at the offending item that lay in the floor and stooped to pick it up.

"What?" Sharon's brows lifted. When she saw the little matchbox police car in his hand, her lips pressed together. "Oh." Her eyes sparkled with amusement. "It's his favorite toy," she reminded her irritated husband, while continuing to attempt to hold back a smile.

"Yeah?" He tossed it onto the night stand while rolling his eyes. "What kind of irony is it that his favorite toy would be something Taylor gave him?" He dropped onto the bed with a huff and leaned back.

The corners of her mouth twitched. Her head tilted. "He's simply fostering relations with the next generation of LAPD elite," she barely managed it before she began to giggle.

"I'm glad you think it's funny," Andy grumbled. He slanted a look at her and shook his head. "Russell Taylor is my son's favorite _uncle_, what the hell did I do to deserve that."

Sharon bent forward, laughing gleefully. "It was rather heinous I'm sure, the punishment must befit the crime."

Andy's eyes narrowed. "I'm glad you think it's so damned amusing." When it only made her laugh harder, he rolled his eyes. "Naturally, this would be my life. I married the head Witch from Internal Affairs, and Assistant Chief Snake has charmed my son. Forget past lives, I was naughty in this one." That drew a guffaw from her and Andy's lips pursed. "It's not that funny, but I know something that is…" He sat up and reached for her. Sharon was pulled to the middle of the bed and dropped onto her back. He loomed over her, one hand at her side, and the other behind her knee. Andy lowered his face to the crook of her neck and began his assault. He knew where every one of her soft spots lay, particularly those that had her writhing in helpless laughter within just seconds. Thank god, he thought, that their son slept like a log.

"Stop, stop, stop!" When she couldn't take anymore, she curled her legs around him and bucked. They rolled and Sharon landed atop him. She sat back and tossed her hair back over her shoulder. She was breathing heavily and planted a hand in the center of his chest to hold him on the bed when he attempted to sit up. "Uh uh," she shook her head and drew a deep breath. She craned her head, listening for Ian. He was a heavy sleeper, but they had been rather loud.

Andy watched her. With her face flushed and her eyes moist and still shining with laughter, she was absolutely breathtaking. He sat up a moment later and curled his arms around her. He drew her more solidly onto his lap and sought her lips, kissing her softly.

"Hm," she hummed against his mouth. "I thought you were tired."

"I'll never be too tired to love you." He twisted them on the bed and pressed her down onto her back beneath him. When she simply drew him to her, he smiled. It seemed he wasn't the only one who'd found a second burst of energy.


	2. Chapter 2

Everything We Are - Chapter 2

by Kadi

Rated: M

Disclaimer: It's not my sandbox, I'm only visiting for a time.

* * *

The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon when a sharp little knee landed in the center of Andy's back. He groaned loudly, and the muffled, high pitched giggle gave away its owner. Andy lifted his head and squinted in the dim lighting of the room at his wriggling son. The boy was scooting down beneath the covers. He smiled impishly at his father when a slender arm curled around him. Ian had one arm around the neck of an old, floppy, stuffed monkey as he snuggled down beneath the covers and against his mother's chest.

"Shh." She drew him closer, without opening her eyes or waking fully and settled her chin atop his little head.

Andy just shook his head and slipped onto his side. Ian's eyes were already closed again, but there was a smile playing at his lips. If he missed the days when his wife would fall asleep, sated and naked in his arms, this reminded him why he appreciated her sliding into one of his old t-shirts just as much. Inevitably, at some point before breakfast, Ian always ended up climbing into their bed. Andy let his eyes drift closed again, but smiled when he felt a little hand touch his. Ian would do little more than doze for the next hour, but would not be contained for longer than that. Early morning was Ian's time with his mother, and he dared anyone to try and interrupt it. He was not pleased if he didn't get his cuddle time, and could make an entire day suffer for it. Andy could understand the sentiment, that was his boy.

Just shy of an hour later, the wiggling beside him woke Andy again. His eyes opened to find the room cast in lighter shades of grey and blue early morning light. Ian had begun to fidget, indicating that he was ready to be up. Andy tapped his hand to get his attention and held a finger to his lips before indicating the still sleeping Sharon. With practiced ease they extracted him from his mother, and Andy scooped him into his own arms as he got up. This little window between waking and breakfast was their time. Sharon's alarm would go off soon, waking her. By the time she finished her shower and ventured downstairs, Andy would have breakfast ready. Ian would help, more or less, by keeping him company.

Ian was installed in his high chair where he could watch his father, a small sippy cup of milk in hand while Andy brewed coffee and started chopping vegetables for omelets. His rummaging of the fridge found a package of turkey bacon and he started that to cooking as well, for Sharon and Ian.

When Sharon joined them, breakfast was laid out on the table in the corner of the kitchen. Andy was standing at the counter with a cup of coffee, while Ian sat playing in his high chair. He had the police car in hand, and it was being chased by a small, matchbox truck. "Broom-broom!" He exclaimed, pushing them around on the tray of his high chair. The police car flipped over the edge of the tray and clattered to the floor. "Oops." He peered over the edge of the tray at it, then looked up with laughing eyes at his mother. "Crashed!"

"I see that." She scooped it up for him and lay it back on the tray. "You execute police chases like your Uncle Louie, my love." She kissed the top of his head and his giggles made her smile that much brighter. "Strictly speaking, it's supposed to be the other way around. The car is meant to chase the truck."

"No." Ian giggled as the truck began chasing the squad car again. "Better!"

"So he'll never work in patrol or traffic," Andy pointed out. "I'm okay with that." He grinned as he held out a cup of coffee for his wife. She was clad in only her robe, and her hair was still damp from the shower. When she reached for it, his other hand curled around her arm and he drew her closer. "Morning," he rumbled, and pressed a kiss against her lips.

"Morning." She smiled against his mouth. Sharon leaned into him. She curled an arm around his waist, but took the coffee with her other. "So he'll have an excellent career in Internal Affairs instead. _I_ can live with that."

"Funny." Andy kissed her again before letting her go. He smirked while she took a sip of her coffee before placing it on the table. "No son of mine is going to work with the rat squad."

"Is that a fact?" Her head tipped back. Amusement danced in her green eyes. "What if I'd like my son to follow in _my_ footsteps, hm?"

"I thought we agreed that it was better that our children _not_ repeat our mistakes?" Andy flashed a crooked grin at her.

"Ian, your father is pushing it again." Sharon turned away from him to retrieve her son. She sat her coffee on the table before reaching for him.

"Ah oh!" Ian cackled on cue. When his mother slipped his tray back, he lifted his arms.

"Exactly." She lifted him into her arms before seating herself. With Ian in her lap, she curled an arm around him and began filling a plate for them to share.

Andy chuckled quietly. "Well, I can see when I'm outnumbered." He drained his coffee and placed the mug on the counter beside the pot. "I'm going to hop into the shower. Ian, keep an eye on her."

"Yep, yep, yep." Ian reached for a piece of the bacon his mother was tearing into small pieces for him. "Bite!" He leaned back against her chest while he chewed. "Mmm."

"That's right," She laid her cheek against the top of his head. "Daddy did good, hm?" When he nodded, she kissed his cheek.

Ian turned and pressed a piece of bacon against her lips. "Mama bite."

She nipped at his fingers, making him giggle, and cuddled him close to her as they went through their morning breakfast routine. He was such a joy to her, this child. She tore toast into small pieces for him as well, and while he was occupied with feeding himself, she began to enjoy her own breakfast.

Andy watched them from the kitchen entryway. It was the same every morning, when they weren't called away by a case. The high chair sat less than a foot away, but she would hold the baby in her lap while they both ate. He could hear them speaking quietly, and a conversation with a two-year-old might be filled with mostly nonsense, but it was as though they were debating the finest in philosophies as far as Sharon and Ian were concerned. He would ramble on and on, throwing in words he knew with toddler gibberish, and he would have her utmost attention. Andy leaned against the frame of the entryway for just a moment longer. It filled him with such warmth, watching his wife with their child. As a woman she was breathtaking, but it never failed to stop his heart at just how beautiful she was as a mother.

A short while later, when Andy stepped out of the shower, Sharon was at the dressing table in their room applying her makeup. Ian was seated on the floor nearby, stacking blocks and knocking them over with his dinosaur toys. The open bathroom door was invitation, and the toddler quickly abandoned his game of stack and destroy to join his father. It was a familiar routine, he was lifted onto the vanity and sat there while Andy smoothed cream onto his face and began to shave.

Sharon watched them from the corner of her mirror. Ian was always mesmerized by it. It was one of the few times he would sit patiently for anything. He watched with wide eyes, and remained both still and quiet. A smile tugged at her lips as she leaned forward to smooth liner around her eyes. When she leaned back, she glanced into the mirror again. Ian was standing on the vanity now, a towel in hand, helping to wipe away excess shaving cream. She heard her son's quiet, "that one," and knew they'd reached the aftershave portion of the routine.

"Think mom'll like it?" Sharon chuckled quietly at her husband's low, conspiratorial rumble.

"Mama like," was the very serious reply.

Sharon glanced over when Andy left the bathroom, a giggling Ian thrown over his shoulder. He was still only wearing a towel draped around his waist. She leaned her chin in her hand as she watched him drop the squealing, laughing boy on the bed. The man was sexier than sin, but there was nothing more attractive, in her opinion, than the way he interacted with his son. With her make up complete she began straightening her hair. "I need you to sign the papers for Gavin," she reminded him, and glanced over to see him contemplating ties.

"Yeah," Andy sighed. "It's just damned morbid, Sharon." But necessary, he knew. They had finally worked up their will, and a large part of it included a section on guardianship of Ian if anything ever happened to the both of them. They had debated that for quite some time. They didn't want anyone to feel slighted for not being chosen, but it was Ian that came first. "Hell, what's the likelihood of anything ever happening to _both _of us at the same time anyway? I can probably count on one hand the number of times we've partnered up at work since we got married, and to top that off, we're bad for the environment. We take separate cars to work."

Sharon smiled at him and turned back to her task. She knew that he was only grumbling about it because he didn't like to _think_ about it. They weren't exactly young. Making sure that Ian was taken care of was simply the right and responsible thing to do. "Just the same, I need you to sign them, Andy. We didn't spend all this time hashing it out so that you can sit on the final product."

"I hear you." Andy shook his head at Ian. "Do you hear that? Nag, nag, nag," he made a face at his son. "Can't a guy get a break?"

He screwed his face up and then shook his head. "No. Bad." He giggled as he shook his finger at his father.

"You're always taking her side aren't you?" Andy sighed and settled on a tie. He'd wear the green shirt that she liked so much, with the lighter green, matching tie. "Yeah, I can't blame you." He heard his wife laugh and rolled his eyes. "See, it's all about keeping the women in our lives happy, son. Remember that."

Sharon finished her hair while Andy dressed. Afterward, she stood and retrieved her son. "Come on, young Mister Flynn. We need to get you dressed too." Her son was lifted on to her hip and she carried him back to his own room. A pair of khaki shorts and a green and white striped polo shirt completed his outfit. While she was at it, Sharon packed a change of clothes into his day bag, and carried both it and the toddler back across the hall. Andy had finished dressing by that point, and had his gun and badged clipped to his belt. With his suit jacket in hand, he took Ian and the bag from her and headed downstairs so that she could finish. She admired him as he walked past her. The dark, three-piece suit and green shirt were her favorites. Sharon shook her head. He would get extra points for that.

It was a familiar morning routine. Andy ate while Sharon dressed, and kept an eye on Ian during the process. When she came back downstairs, he kissed his wife and son goodbye and headed into HQ ahead of them. Sharon would clean the kitchen and pack Ian's lunch for the day before following him. That was, when one or both of them wasn't called out in the middle of the night for a case, or very early in the morning.

As she gathered her computer bag and purse, while juggling Ian and his things, Sharon found that Andy had tucked the now signed Will into the side pocket of her computer bag. She smiled. He groused about it, but understood it's importance.

She managed to get Ian strapped into his car seat with little incident, and made sure that he had toys in hand before sliding into the driver's seat. She glanced back at him, where he sat in the center of the backseat of her car and laughed. He had his cars again, only this time he was smashing the police car and the truck together. "Definitely not patrol or traffic for you, my little man."

Ian cackled and slammed them together again. "Bam!"

Early morning traffic made Sharon reconsider dropping by Gavin's office on the way to work. She decided she would walk them over at lunch instead, or stop by on the way home. Upon reaching the office, she managed to get Ian and all of their things out of the car without dropping anything, and juggled the lot of it as she made the trek from the parking garage to the inside of the divisional headquarters.

"Captain!" Julio spotted her as she strode toward the elevator and jogged to catch up. "Let me help, ma'am." He held out his arms for Ian and grinned. "Hey my man!" The detective settled the boy into his own arms. "So, what do you say mi hombre, let's ditch your madre and go scoping for hotties yeah? Bet I find a cute one with you on my arm. The girls can't say no to both of these faces."

Sharon shot a bland look at him and reached out to hit the button for the elevator when they reached it. "Really?"

Julio glanced at her and then nodded at Ian. "Or maybe we'll just go to daycare and save that idea for your dad. He'd understand."

"I think that is a very wise choice, Detective." Sharon shook her head, while smiling in mild amusement, and redistributed her things. When they reached the second floor, they both left the elevator and crossed the lobby to enter a second set of elevators. This was taken to the fifth floor. Upon reaching that destination, Sharon reached for Ian again. "I can make it from here, Detective, but thank you."

"Are you sure?" At her nod, Julio gave him up. "Stay cool, man. We'll talk later when she's not around," he whispered loudly. He held up his hand once the boy was back in his mother's arms, and smiled when Ian slapped it.

From over Sharon's shoulder, Ian waved as they walked away. "Bye-bye."

After Ian was dropped off at daycare, Sharon joined the rest of her team in the Murder Room. "Good morning, everyone." She strode through the room to her office where she deposited her purse and computer bag. After the bag was unloaded and the computer set up, she rejoined the team. "Okay, someone tell me that we have something? SIS reports?"

"It rained _after_ the body was dumped," Julio stated, glancing up from his computer. "There was little evidence on the body, and it looks like most of the dumpsite was compromised too."

"If we had prints in the dirt, those are long gone too," Andy added. "Morales did the autopsy last night, COD was a gunshot wound through the neck here," he pointed the spot on his own neck, just below his adam's apple. "Not an easy way to die. It was a through and through, no casings at the scene."

"In other words, _no_." Provenza drawled, not even bothering to look up from his morning paper. "We've got absolutely nothing. Squat. Zilch."

"So I gather," Sharon tilted her head at them. Her lips pursed and she thought it through. "Okay, our victim is a fairly well known movie producer, someone like that doesn't end up dead in Griffith park without _someone_ knowing or seeing _something_." Sharon shook her head. "Looks like we're back to basics. Let's talk to the wife again, and the assistant. Lieutenant," She turned to Provenza. "I'd like you to go down to the studio and speak to the assistant. See what you can find out. Take Detective Sykes with you," she smiled sweetly at him. "Julio, Mike, take the wife. See if she'll come down." Sharon walked toward the white board, eyes narrowing. "I find it hard to believe that there was _nothing _at the scene. I'd like to take another look at the dumpsite."

"What do you expect to find," Andy asked, unconvinced.

"Probably nothing," she replied. "It wouldn't hurt to look again." None of it really made sense, and perhaps she was looking for a way to wrap her mind around the very _little_ that they had to go on.

"Yeah, alright." She wasn't going by herself. "I'll go with you." Andy shrugged, after all, just that morning he pointed out that they hardly got to work _together_ anymore.

At his desk, Provenza snorted. "Because _that_ is a good idea." When the Captain glowered down at him, he shrugged. "Call 'em how I see 'em, Captain." He stood up and took his jacket off the back of his chair, as he slipped it on, he smirked at them. "Lots of nice places to park up at Griffith park. Do us a favor, don't come home with anymore babies. Come on, Sykes."

Sharon looked skyward, lips pursed. She drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. At his desk, Andy was pinching the bridge of his nose. "He's your partner," she finally muttered.

"He's your second in command," he shot back. Andy slipped his own jacket back on. "Let's go, sooner we get up there, the sooner we can get back."

"Well, with an offer like that," she drawled sarcastically, "how can a girl resist?"

"Yeah, I know," Andy smirked. "I still got it."

Sharon snorted a laugh and walked toward her office. "You've got something, Lieutenant. I haven't quite figured out what."

"Really?" He grinned crookedly when she reappeared. "Maybe I'll demonstrate for you later, Captain."

"I'm not sure that my husband would like that, Lieutenant," she said, with a pointed look.

Andy nodded, duly chastised, and followed her from the murder room.

They drove up to Griffith Park and took a look around. There was nothing there, but they hadn't really expected there would be. It was worth a try, at the very least. While they were on their way back to the office, Provenza called them with a possible lead. An aspiring actor had gotten into it with their victim a few days prior to the murder. Threats had been issued, and everyone who knew the young man said that he had a temper.

Their possible suspect had an apartment in Los Feliz, and since the Captain and Lieutenant Flynn would be driving near there on their way back to the station, it seemed the most efficient for them to drop in on the young man.

As they entered the apartment building and headed upstairs. They came to realize that sometimes, efficiency just didn't pay.

There was a sound that every California resident knew; a deep, low rumble, mistaken by some for the subway in the initial seconds. Then the ground would pitch, it wasn't a vibration. It was a roll. As though mother Earth herself was attempting to break apart and swallow you whole, and in a way, that might very well be the case. It came without warning, and once it began, there was no stopping it. It was simply a matter of praying for the very best, and hoping that _this time_ wasn't the _last time_.

Tectonic pressure had its own ideas. The apartment building was old, not quite dilapidated, but it had seen better days. It certainly wasn't up to code for the shaking that went on beneath their feet. The experienced resident could estimate magnitude. It was only of moderate strength, but the stairwell they were in when it began collapsed just the same. A wall gave in as they fell and the stairwell pitched, throwing them into the old, abandoned elevator shaft. The car was long since gone, but the shaft remained. It was fortuitous they were only just reaching the second floor, their witness was supposed to be on the fifth, that might have been a tad more troublesome.

Sharon Flynn decided, just for this once, and just in that moment, that efficiency could kiss her ass.

Dust filled the air. It was thick, almost oppressive. It tickled her throat, and the clean air in her lungs was forced out when she coughed, only to cough harder as she sucked in the thick, dirty gasps. The ground had already stopped shaking, these things never lasted long. It could _feel_ like forever, but only minutes would pass. The shaft was dusty and damp; it smelled of decaying brick and wood. When the dust began to settle, falling all around them in uncomfortable and itchy layers, her coughing became less frequent. Which was good, her throat already felt raw.

She tried to take stock, felt a hand on her arm and leaned toward its owner. "I'm okay," she rasped. "Andy?"

"Yeah." He'd had better days, that was for damned sure. He dug his phone out of his suit pocket and although the display was cracked, he was pleased to see it still working. "No signal. But we've got light." He had a flashlight app. He keyed it on and pointed the bright, LED light around them. They were well and truly hemmed in. "Hell."

"Yes, that sums it up." Sharon was checking her own phone. It was in only slightly better shape than Andy's. "It's the brick and the elevator shaft, it's blocking our signal. Or there's a tower down, it didn't feel strong enough for that."

"No," he agreed. "It's where we are." Andy gained his feet, carefully, and checked the small space. The last thing they needed was the rest of the building to come tumbling down on them. "Remind me to write a complaint." He heaved a sigh, coughed, and returned to the Captain.

"Remind me to sign it for you." She grimaced as she moved to her feet. Sharon had landed hard on a large section of wall and her hip was aching. She felt the beginnings of stinging cuts, aches and pains all over. At least she had thought to wear a pantsuit that morning, even if one of her heels was broken, it was better than being tossed about in a skirt. She shined her phone at Andy and found he was in similar shape. The knuckles of one hand were scraped, his suit was filthy, and likely ruined, and to top it off he had a cut above his eyebrow. "Sit," She tugged his arm. "Let me see that cut."

"It's fine." Like her, he was taking stock, and of more than just their current surroundings. There was a shallow cut across her cheek, dust had settled in her hair, and while she was holding herself a bit stiffly - as though she was injured, she appeared otherwise fine. Andy reached for her face, he cupped her chin and tilted it slightly. "Just a scratch. Flynn 1, Mother Nature 0."

She snorted at him. "I could say the same. Now _sit_, Lieutenant." Sharon made it an order and coupled it with a very pointed look.

Andy rolled his eyes at her and did as he was ordered. "I said it was fine." He eased down with a grimace. He was getting too damned old to be thrown around like this. "Hey!" He protested with the light of her phone shined in his eyes.

"Sorry," she muttered. She held the phone higher and shined the edge of the light across his brow. Her fingers were gentle as they probed the wound. She sucked in a breath when he winced and murmured another apology. It wasn't bad, not overly deep. Just filled with dust and who knew what else. It made her shudder.

The ground lurched beneath them again. Sharon wobbled where she knelt in front of Andy. His hands came up to steady her, gripped her sides just beneath her arms. Her phone was dropped between them when her hands fell to grip his shoulders to keep her balance. "That was quick." He placed her beside him and passed her phone back into her hands. His was shone around the small enclosure again. The pile of brick, wood, and steel between them and the outer world had not shifted.

"It didn't feel strong enough for aftershocks," Sharon sat back on her heels and decided to save the battery on her phone.

"Let's hope they weren't both foreshocks." Andy sighed. He moved to his feet again, and continued shining the narrow beam of his phone's camera light toward the pile of rock and steel blocking them in. He allowed the beam to wonder upward, but it wasn't very powerful. Near the top of the pile there was darkness, and he couldn't tell if it was an opening, or just the limit of his phone's reach. "Hey, come here in a minute."

Sharon rose, with a grimace, and moved to stand beside him. Her eyes narrowed in the darkness, following the path of his phone's light. "An opening maybe?"

"Hell if I know." Andy slipped the light off and reached for her. "Let's try this." He put the phone in her pocket and turned her.

"What are you doing?" Her brows lifted. "This is probably a very bad idea, you know that don't you?"

Andy sighed and gave her a sour look, which now that their little space was practically pitch black, she couldn't see. "You have any better ideas? We don't know if it's a way out or not, but standing around here isn't going to do us any good."

"It's not going to do us any good if you throw your damned back out either," she groused back at him. It wasn't as though she liked the idea of being stuck there any better than he did.

"Well we can sit here twiddling our thumbs or we can try to get out. Pick one," he snapped.

"Fine." She placed her hands on his shoulders. "You don't have to be an ass about it." When he lifted her, she drew a quick breath, which was a mistake as she began coughing again. His hands stilled until she stopped. "Okay," she squeezed his shoulders and she was hoisted upward.

With some maneuvering, and quite a bit of grumbling from Andy, he managed to get her on his shoulders. They stumbled a few times, almost falling more than once. Back aching, and teeth clenched tightly together, Andy waited for her to get the phone out of her pocket and flip the light back on. "You know, this would work better for me if you were in a skirt," he ground out.

"_Andy_." Sharon tapped the top of his head. "Focus."

"Believe me, baby, I am." His hands squeezed her thighs.

Sharon rolled her eyes at him and turned the narrow beam of light toward the previous darkness. "No joy," she reported. "It's an opening, but it's completely closed in on the other side."

"Great." He grunted when he felt her moving again, and then the shaft was cast back into darkness. "Okay, bringing you down."

"Oh god," She groaned. "Do not drop me, Andy Flynn."

"Never." He backed into the wall and they used that to steady her as he brought her down, and right into his embrace. "Okay?"

"Yes." They were both breathing heavily. Her hands moved up and down his back and she leaned into him for a moment. The darkness was unsettling, however, and she reached into her pocket for the phone again.

"We're probably going to be here a while," Andy said quietly.

"Unfortunately." She sighed. Andy reclaimed his phone and shined the beam at the floor. They found a relatively level, debris free spot and sank down to wait it out. Sharon's nose wrinkled, she didn't want to think about what was growing on the walls. She sat, with a wince, and stretched her legs in front of her.

"You're hurt." Andy aimed the light at her and reached out, hand moving up and down her sides, looking for injuries.

"I'm fine." She reached for his hand, stilling it. "The problem is that I'm not twenty-one anymore. Nothing is broken, Andy."

His eyes narrowed speculatively before he drew back and leaned against the wall. "Yes, but you don't look a day over twenty-five," he flashed a wide, crooked grin.

Sharon snorted at him. "Flattery won't get us out of here any faster, and neither will your poor eyesight." She cleared her throat in deference to not coughing again. "Emergency services will be implemented until damage is confirmed. At some point they'll realize we're missing."

Andy chuckled. "Could be worse."

"I fail to see how." She arched a brow at him. "Aside from the obvious of not being crushed beneath a falling wall."

"Well, yeah." Andy shook his head. "I meant, you could be trapped with Provenza. Or Sykes."

"Hm." Her lips pursed. "Good point." Sharon tipped her head back and closed her eyes. "I've made a study of ignoring you."

Andy grunted. He slanted a look at her. "Funny. Good to know the kid comes by it naturally," he said drily.

"Yes." She spoke quietly, her tone drifting. Rusty would have been on campus, but he had grown up in California. This wouldn't be his first earthquake. Still, he would worry. Especially when he couldn't reach them, and more still when they were not easily located. That was not where her worry lay. Rusty was more than capable of taking care of himself.

Beside her, Andy lay his phone face down on his other side and allowed the light to continue illuminating the shaft. "He's okay," he spoke, just as quietly. "It wasn't anywhere near downtown. They would have barely gotten rattled." As he said it, he reached for her hand and curled his tightly around it.

"I know," Sharon said softly. "But it scares him when the ground shakes, and we don't know how long we'll be here. He isn't used to not seeing at least one of us during the day."

"Yeah." He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. "Someone will check on him. Sharon, you don't have to worry about Ian, the team is there."

"Of course I worry about Ian," she stared at him in the darkness. "I'm worried about him every minute of every day."

"I know," he pulled her closer, against his shoulder and dropped his head to rest against hers. "Me too."

"You had to say it," she whispered. "You just _had_ to voice it, the thing about nothing happening to the two of us. For the record, this is all your fault."

Andy's lips pursed. He looked skyward and sighed. "Yes," he deadpanned. "Because I am so powerful that the earth even moves…" He paused, slanted a look at her. "Well, that's what you said last night too."

"Oh my god," she moaned. Sharon slapped his arm. "How did I end up married to such an arrogant, sarcastic, completely insan—"

"Easy." Andy smirked. "The earth moved, baby."

She slapped a hand over her face and laughed. "Lunatic."

"Neurotic," he shot back.

"Jack ass."

"Witch."

"Now, now," she poked his side. "I thought you liked that part of my personality."

"Only when you wear that low cut red blouse and the short black skirt," he drawled.

"I'll keep that in mind," she replied, eyes closed again and smiling. "Anything else?"

"Yeah." Andy turned his face into her hair. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you."

His voice pitched low, growing serious. Sharon steeled herself against the direction he could possibly take now. They were trapped. She drew a breath. "Yes?"

Andy moved his lips against her ear and whispered, "Do you think Taylor dyes his hair?"

She blinked. Her brows lifted in surprise. Sharon looked forward again and pressed her lips together. She cleared her throat and shook her head. "_Andy_." She laughed quietly. He really was something else. Oh how she loved this man. She lay her head against his shoulder. "I honestly hadn't noticed, but I'm a little concerned that _you_ have."

"Oh, I didn't," he assured her. "Someone asked me. I'm usually too busy looking elsewhere, but after it was mentioned, I had to look. It's damned disturbing."

"I don't know," she replied. "There is something to be said for having a talented hair dresser once you reach a certain age."

"Talented," he said. "Yes, but have you _seen_ his hair?"

"Hm." She chuckled again. "It is a bit disturbing."

"Someone should do something," Andy said. "Tell the man, refer him to another salon, get him a lighter shade of _Just For Men_. _Something_. It's just awful."

"Let me know how that turns out for you, Lieutenant." Sharon smirked happily.

"Ah," he pointed a finger at her. "I think this definitely falls in line with things to be moved _up_ the chain of command. I have reported the situation, Captain. It must be handled."

"I see." Her lips pursed. "That was well engineered, Lieutenant. However…" Sharon's head tilted and she grinned in the darkness. "I'm going to enforce my authoritative right to delegate. Good luck."

"I take back everything I ever said to your face," Andy drawled. "I'm putting back into effect everything I ever said _behind_ your back. Yep. You're mean."

Sharon chortled. "Oh Andy. Nothing you ever said behind my back could be even remotely as bad as any of the arguments we've had over the years."

"Considering I've seen you shoot," he reached over and gave her knee a light pat. "It's good that you believe that, Sharon."

"Really?" Her brows lifted. She was interested now. She had known Andy to become quite colorful when engaged in a fit of temper. "Do tell."

"Take off your gun and hand it to me first," He hedged with a grin. "For the record, past transgressions do not get me put to the sofa."

She laughed. "That bad?"

"Hm." He grunted. "Think about some of the things you've said about _me_ over the course of our very long association, and then ask me that again."

"Okay." She stared straight ahead. "Point taken."

Andy shot an incredulous look at her. "No."

"Hmm? Was there something you needed?" She smiled sweetly at him, despite the fact he could hardly discern it in the faint light from his cell phone.

"Yeah, I've been maligned. I'm hurt." He poked her shoulder. "Bully."

"Well, I've learned from the best," she drawled.

"You're welcome," he chirped.

Sharon shook her head. "You're in fine form suddenly."

"I'm bored." Andy sighed. "This whole, sitting still and being cooped up in small, dark, stinking places doesn't work well for me. That, and I'm pretty sure I've been hearing the distinct scratch and squeak of rats. We're well ventilated," He pointed up, to the thin slits of light overhead where the elevator shaft's air vents were located. "Which means we won't suffocate. But damn, I don't want to get eaten alive either."

A shudder went through her. "I was attempting to ignore them. Thank you, honey, for pointing out the truly gruesome." Sharon rolled her eyes at him. "They'll leave us alone. If they don't, my clip is fully loaded. I'll protect you."

"Would you?" He wriggled closer. "That would be great. I can't tell you how much it means to me. Defended by the great—"

"Oh hush." She elbowed him. "I'd forgotten how adolescent you can really be when properly motivated."

"Keeps me young," he quipped.

"Mmhm." Sharon shook her head. "Well, I suppose that's all that really matters in the end."

"We all have to be good at something." Andy leaned his head back and let his eyes close.

Sharon leaned back and did likewise. That had only managed to eat up a good ten minutes of their time. It was going to be a long day.

He wasn't the most patient person on the planet, Andy was painfully aware of that. Sitting trapped in the dark with no way of communicating with the outside world was definitely going to the bottom of his list of favorite activities. He tapped his fingers rhythmically against his leg while he tried to think of something that might make the time pass more quickly. Andy slanted a look at his wife beside him, a single eye cracking open to make that possible. He watched her shift and wince and his brows drew together. "How bad is it?"

"How bad is what," she sighed. Sharon was leaning slightly to one side, trying to keep the weight off her hip. It was definitely bruised, and sitting on the cold concrete wasn't helping it any. A steady, dull throb was shooting down her leg from the effect of the hard surface.

"Sharon." He scowled at her in the darkness.

"I'm fine," she repeated. "Nothing is broken, but I'm not twenty-five anymore, and getting tossed around like a rag doll isn't my favorite activity. Honestly, Andy, there's nothing to worry about."

He snorted. "Of course not. I'm trapped with the single most stubborn woman on the planet." Andy shook his head at her.

Sharon returned his gaze for a moment, and then she laughed. "Pot meet kettle," she shot back with a wry grin. "You are one to talk, Andy Flynn. I've written entire documents with the sole thesis aimed at your stubbornness."

"I never proclaimed not to be. I made your career, admit it. You have me to thank." Andy smirked at her. "Come here." He held out a hand.

"More than that, I've lived with you for over two years," she winced when he drew her toward him. "I know just exactly how stubborn you can be. Our son inherited a good portion of it."

"Oh yeah, he got it all from me," Andy rolled his eyes. "Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart."

"I will," she chirped with a grin. "That boy is all Flynn, and you can't deny it."

"Oh, I'm not about to deny he's mostly Flynn." Andy tugged her over to sit between his legs. He bent one knee and settled her against it, providing a cushion for her injured hip and giving her something more comfortable to lean against. When he had her tucked against his chest, he let a hand rest comfortably at her waist while the other was draped across his bent knee. "Better?"

He was solid, warm behind her. She relaxed and let herself settle fully against him. "Yes," she said softly, "thank you." Her hip still ached, but it was no longer throbbing. Sharon leaned her head back against his shoulder with a soft sigh. When she felt the press of his lips against her forehead, she smiled. "Well," She said finally, "we wanted some time alone together."

Andy chuckled. "Not what I had in mind. We should be careful what we wish for." He felt a shudder run through her and his arms closed more tightly around her. "I know, sweetheart," he murmured. "I'm worried about him too." Ian was safe at headquarters, but he might be frightened, and he might become upset when his routine was thrown off. They knew that their team would take care of the boy, but it wasn't the same thing. It never would be.


	3. Chapter 3

Everything We Are - Chapter 3

by Kadi

Rated: M

Disclaimer: It's not my sandbox, I'm only visiting for a time.

**A/N:** I admit it. Flynngasm is my word. It became a thing. I should say that I am sorry. Instead I will say: You should always tweet responsibly!

* * *

Earthquakes. The barely four-pointers that did nothing more than rattle the windows and cause superficial damage. They were more annoying than almost anything. Phone circuits were tied up all over the city. Traffic was hell. There was the usual mix of panic and cynicism, indifference, and excitement. It would all die down by evening, and everyone would forget, at least until the next one. These were regular occurrences.

The LAPD had specific guidelines in place for handling the situation. Calls were routed through the switchboard and handled by patrol, traffic, and emergency services. With the circuits busy and the roads a mess, it wasn't at all unusual that they didn't hear from the Captain and Flynn during the first two hours following the earthquake. Traffic in Los Angeles could be an all day kind of nightmare. As far as Lieutenant Provenza was concerned, better them than him. Although, he did agree, they were rather poor bastards for being stuck out in it.

With nothing else to do except be on standby for emergency assistance, just like the rest of the LAPD, the team continued working on their current case. It was a plaintively crying child that drew their attention away from it.

A few hours had passed and it was just after lunch when one of the young aids from Daycare stepped into the Murder Room. She had a crying Ian in her arms and his day bag draped over her shoulder. The child's cries got their notice before she ever spoke. When the Lieutenant scowled at her, she almost took a step back. "I'm sorry, sir. I was looking for Captain Raydor or Lieutenant Flynn. I haven't been able to reach them by phone, obviously, and—" She had to stop when Ian's cries grew in pitch and volume. Having seen someone he recognized, he was reaching for the person.

"They were out of the office when the pandemonium started." Provenza rose from his desk and walked over to take the child. "What is all the racket?" He settled the toddler against his chest and bounced him. "You don't carry on like this." Truthfully, none of them had scene such a tantrum out of the boy, although they had _heard_ about it. To hear Flynn tell it, there was usually just about one thing that could console the kid. "When did this start?" He glared at the aid, the boy looked like he'd been crying for a while.

"A bit ago," she admitted. "The children were a little rattled by the earthquake. Ian was asking for his parents, and when we weren't able to get them on the phone for him…" She trailed off, the rest of the statement not necessary.

"Figures." Provenza waved her off. "Alright, go, get out of here. I don't know why you just didn't bring him up to begin with. Honestly, the lack of thought in some people!" He huffed and grumbled as he carried Ian back to his desk, patting his back the whole way.

Julio chuckled quietly and got up to get the boy's bag. "Thanks," he said quietly. "We've got him. I'm sure they'll be back soon."

Provenza sat the boy on his desk so that they were eye level and tapped his nose to get his attention. "Now listen little Flynn," he began. "There's no reason to be making so much noise. Your mom and dad will be back soon."

Ian's hands slapped against his own face and his head fell back as he cried. "Mama-Mama-Mama," he hiccuped, between sobs.

"Hey, little man!" Julio scooped him up and held him. "Look what I've got." He had the police car that he knew was Ian's favorite toy, from the few occasions where he had babysat the boy. "Check it out chico, you know, mom's not looking. We could go for a ride in a real one."

Provenza snorted. "Oh yes, she would just _love_ that." He watched Julio pace with the boy, using a far more soothing tone that he felt like employing at the moment. Ian's cries were growing less intense in volume, but he continued to whimper and sniffle.

"What is this?" Taylor stepped into the room, having heard the noise down the hall.

"Someone is missing his parents, sir." Julio answered as he bounced the toddler in his arms. "Lieutenant Flynn and the Captain were checking a lead when the earthquake happened. We can't reach their cells, and the roads are, well…" He shrugged. No one had to really go into detail about the hell that was Los Angeles traffic. "We tried them on the radio in Lieutenant Flynn's service vehicle, but they haven't responded." Which wouldn't be unusual either. "They could be rendering aid."

"The kids got a little rattled," Provenza stated. "The idiots down in the daycare didn't consider that maybe, when they couldn't console him, they could try reaching someone he knew. Instead, they allowed him to cry for a while, and now… you can see the evidence."

"Yes I can," Taylor frowned, not liking the sound of that. He made a mental note to check on things with the Daycare Supervisor. They couldn't expect the officers that worked in the building to be willing to trust their children in the center if things like this were the result. "Tell you what," he smirked a bit when Ian reached for him. It was an never-ending source of amusement for Taylor that the boy had taken to him as he had, considering who the parents - or more to the point, who the _father_ was. "Hey now, that's better isn't it?" He'd stopped whimpering, but continued to sniffle. "I've got some pretty interesting things back in my office, and my assistant makes the best chocolate chip cookies on the planet. So you are going to come with me."

"Plane." Ian sniffled hopefully.

"That's right. I've got the airplanes." Taylor grinned down at him. "While you and I are checking that out, you're other friends here are going to go and see if they can find Mom and Dad." He shot a pointed look at the Lieutenant. "Maybe check out where you knew they were supposed to be. I don't like having my officers where I can't find them. Isn't that right little man?"

"Yep, yep, yep," he hiccuped.

"And if they happen to be stuck in the absolute hell that is the traffic out _there_," Provenza stated. "What is sending _us_ out there going to accomplish?"

"My being able to truthfully explain to a certain Captain that we all know that we did our due diligence to reach her. Plus, I can't exactly send him home with anyone, can I? So young Mr. Flynn will come with me, and your team will get to work finding his parents, your Captain."

"Right." Provenza sighed. That meant having to call down to Traffic. Those yahoos just _loved_ their division. Already there would be helicopters in the air, so at least they wouldn't be pushing out valuable resources just to find a couple of wayward sheep. "Absolutely," he drawled, and not without a little sarcasm. "We'll get right on that, Chief."

"See that you do." Taylor bounced Ian in his arms again. "Come on my little friend. Let's go check out those cookies."

"Cookie!" His eyes brightened, looking more green than hazel.

Provenza waited until they were gone to roll his eyes. "Yes, because she's going to love that just as much."

Julio began to laugh. "I'm waiting to see the look on the Lieutenant's face, sir." His grin was altogether too gleeful. "You know how he feels about the Chief."

"Oh, I know," Provenza drawled as he stood. "Believe me, I know." He took his jacket off the back of his chair and slipped it on. "Alright people, you heard the man. Let's go get lost in traffic for a while. As if we don't have anything better to do."

"I'll stay here," Buzz decided. "In case they get back, or they get a call through. I might even be able to get a call to Rusty. If he can get down here, he can rescue Ian from the Chief."

"Good thinking," Provenza decided. "The rest of you, let's roll."

The team filed out of the murder room, headed to their respective cars. With lights and sirens they would be able to move through town more easily, and in the meantime, radioed the situation and the Chief's orders to Traffic and Patrol divisions. With a traffic helicopter above, the team backtracked to the address they'd given Flynn and the Captain earlier that morning.

It took all of two hours, even with lights and sirens, to reach the destination. Traffic lights and signals were back up and working throughout the city, but it would take some time for the congestion of traffic to clear out.

They found Flynn's car in front of the apartment building. Julio squinted at it from behind his shades. "This is not good, sir." To further complicate matters, there were several emergency vehicles in front of the building as well. There was a pair of ambulances, along with fire and rescue, and two squad cars.

"We don't know that for sure," Although Provenza was inclined to believe him. "Let's check it out." He pushed out of the car and signaled for Tao and Sykes to join them. Provenza flashed his badge at the emergency personnel as they crossed the barriers that had been put up. "What's going on?"

"Structural collapse," one of the uniform patrol officers replied. "Stairwell caved in. There are people trapped on all floors, we're getting them out until the city inspector's office can determine if anyone is getting back in there or not."

Something in his gut clenched. Provenza's jaw clenched for a moment. "Has anyone from Major Crimes checked in here? We had people inside, and one of my guys' cars is still parked here."

"Not that I've heard," the officer, Mills, reported. "You might check with the Lieutenant over there," he nodded to the fireman coordinating the efforts. "It's been pretty slow going. The residents are taking their damned time getting _essentials_ packed."

"Of course they are," Provenza grumbled. He plucked his hat onto his head and strode toward the indicated officer. "Lieutenant," he flashed his badge again. "Provenza, Major Crimes. Has anyone else from my division checked in? I'm looking for a Flynn and Raydor. They were checking out a lead here right around the time that the earthquake would have hit."

"Lieutenant Davis," he replied. He pushed his helmet back and considered them. "The only LAPD we've had are those working the line," He nodded to the barriers, and the officers keeping people back once they were escorted out. "Are you sure they were here?"

"Lieutenant Flynn's car is still here," Sanchez supplied. "It was parked out on the street. We haven't been able to reach him, or Captain Raydor."

"Lieutenant, Nolan here." The fireman held up a hand when his radio lit up with static. "Go ahead Nolan. What have you got?"

"It sounds like we've got people trapped in the old elevator shaft," he reported. "We've heard banging, but we can't risk getting to them yet."

"Understood. I'll send in Rescue Squad to assist. Hey, Nolan," The lieutenant asked as an afterthought. "Have you run into any LAPD officers in there? We've got a Lieutenant from Major Crimes saying he had people inside, including their Captain."

"Negative, so far just residents. I'll pass the world up. If we find them, we'll let him know."

"Copy that." The Lieutenant flashed a sympathetic look at them. "I'm sorry folks, but we don't have anything yet."

"Right." It didn't sit well with him. Provenza sighed. "What are your plans for the building?"

"After we get all the residents out, we'll start moving through the debris. Search and Rescue…" He paused, "Or recovery."

"Is there anything that we can do to help," Sanchez asked. "We're not going to leave until we know about our people."

"We'll take all the help we can get," The Lieutenant stated. "But I need you all outside the structure. If you can keep people out, we'd appreciate it. If your guys were in there, we'll find them."

"Yeah, thanks." Provenza wasn't filled with a lot of warm and fuzzy feelings, but then, he rarely was. "Alright people, you heard the man. Spread out on the line. Let's help Patrol keep these people organized. Tao, radio back to Central, let the Chief know what's going on," he gave him a pointed look. They were going to need to get ahold of someone, soon, to pick up Ian. Either Rusty, or Flynn's daughter.

"Right." Tao turned and jogged back to his car to send the message.

"This day just went from bad," Provenza muttered to Julio, "to seriously screwed up."

"Yes sir," the detective agreed. He walked toward the street to take position with patrol, but he was thinking of a little smile and a pair of big, hazel eyes.

To save the battery on Flynn's phone, since it seemed that they were indeed going to be there a while, they had turned off the flashlight app. Sharon sat, still reclined against her husband's chest. His arms were around her, and the pair of them were studying the phone. They still had no signal, although for about two seconds it seemed as if they could have had a bar. Every half an hour, they'd get up and move around the room, trying to get it back. So far there had been no luck.

"That is not a word. You're cheating." Sharon tipped her head back and huffed at him. They might not have been able to get a call or text out, or reach a wireless network for internet access on the smart phone, but they could access the independent apps, such as Scrabble.

"It's not cheating when it takes the word. Triple word score, read 'em and weep baby." His chin was resting against his shoulder. He turned his face inward and kissed the side of her neck. "Don't be a sore loser."

"The phone is obviously more damaged than we thought," Sharon sniffed. "I can say, with absolute certainty, that Flynngasm is _not _a word."

"You seemed to enjoy it last night," He drawled. His hand slid up her belly to rest just beneath her breasts.

She snorted and dug her elbow into his middle. "That's a situation which can be corrected." Sharon smirked back at him, only just able to make out his features in the glow from the phone's screen.

"I'd be more concerned if I didn't know you so well," Andy waggled his brows at her.

It wasn't so much the expression, as the tone of his voice that indicated the look on his face. Sharon's head tilted, while her brow rose. "Would you like to test that theory, Mr. Flynn?"

With her voice dipping the way it did, a shiver ran down his back. He could just picture her, lips pursed and eyes gleaming. "Sounds like an interesting challenge, Mrs. Flynn." He shifted her on his lap, and in the darkness, he smirked.

"Hmm," she hummed. "We'll see about that," she drawled thickly. In the glow from the phone, her eyes glittered as she deleted _his_ word and built one of her own. _Facetious_. "Now that is a triple word score, darling."

"So is pain in my ass," he drawled, "but you don't see me rubbing it—" He stopped when her fingers dug into his thigh. She had gone stiff suddenly, head inclined. Andy's ears pricked, he heard it too. They waited, barely breathing, and then it sounded again. Banging further up the shaft. They glanced at one another and then both scrambled to their feet. "Hey!" Andy kicked the side of the shaft and yelled loudly, trying to get someone - anyone's attention.

"Wait!" Sharon stopped him before he could do it again. She kicked off her heels and handed one of them to him. With one of them broken, they were ruined, but might still be of _some_ use. Together, they began knocking the heels against the wall of the elevator shaft, while alternating calls for help.

Minutes stretched out. They began to tire. Just when Andy was prepared to drop the shoe in frustration, the shaft opened. Two floors above them the doors were prized open and lights shone into the darkness. "Down here," He bellowed. "Hey!"

Sharon squinted and looked away when the intense beam was turned toward them. "You thought my shoe collection had no purpose."

"Oh, I never said that baby." He winked at her. "It has a purpose, just nothing practical beyond giving me something nice to look at." When she nudged him, he grinned. "So, you wanna get us out of here," he called.

The rescue personnel prized the door even wider. The fireman lay on his belly and peered down into the darkness. "Hey, either one of you a Flynn or Raydor?"

"Yes," Sharon called. "We're LA—"

"PD," he finished for them. "We've got some guys up here making a hell of a lot of noise wanting you found, ma'am."

"Sounds about right," Flynn smirked.

"Are either of you injured?" He asked next. It was hard to see with the shadows in the shaft, even with the beams aimed at them.

"No," Sharon reported. "We're both fine, if a bit dirty, starving, and hot."

He laughed. "Yes ma'am. Hold tight, we're going to see what we can do to get you out of there."

He leaned back through the opening, out of sight, but they could hear him calling for a harness and some rope.

Andy tilted his head at her. "So, nothing a hot shower won't fix then," he grinned.

"Hm?" Sharon fluttered her lashes. "Oh, I'm sorry. Were you implying you'd be sharing mine? I don't think so, sweetheart. You're getting a lesson in resistibility, remember?"

He just chuckled. "We'll see."

"Indeed," she chirped happily.

It took some time for the rescue squad to rig up the system for getting them out of the shaft. Half an hour later, they were being lifted out to the third floor. Despite their having reported not being injured, paramedics were waiting to check both of them out. After a cursory examination, they were each given water and sent on their way.

The team was waiting for them out front. "You've come up with some interesting ways of getting out of work before," Provenza told his partner, "But this one takes the cake!"

Sharon rolled her eyes at them. Before they could get too far into their bickering, she stepped forward. "Have any of you heard from Rusty? How is Ian?"

"Buzz reached him," Julio reported. "He spoke to him a few minutes ago. Told him to stay on campus, at least until the traffic thins out some more."

"Your son is with his favorite sitter," Provenza almost beamed. "Daycare brought him up just before we headed out to come find you. Guess he got a little frightened, but don't worry, Taylor cheered him right up!"

While Andy groaned, Sharon suppressed the urge to laugh. That was a rather amusing turn of events. "Then I would suggest that we get back to HQ."

"Yeah." Andy was dusting off his suit. "I could use a shower."

Provenza snorted. "You both look like a couple of gutter rats."

"I don't want to think about it." Sharon shuddered delicately. With her ruined shoes hanging from one hand, she limped toward the car. She was reminded that there were showers in the sixth floor gym. Then when she got home, she wanted a long, hot bath.

Andy jogged to catch up to her. Since the day was officially shot to hell, he dropped an arm around her shoulders. "Now, about that shower…" He was always up for a good challenge, and he didn't like losing.

An hour later, showered and feeling much better, Sharon and Andy made their way toward Taylor's office. She was also feeling rather triumphant, while he was looking more determined. He would give her this one, Andy hadn't really expected to get his way in the shower, not while they were at HQ. He had to try, however. Dressed now in LAPD t-shirts and running pants, they stepped into the Chief's office. They were both still bruised and a little battered, and certainly feeling their ages, but no worse for the wear of being shaken around. It was nothing that wouldn't resolve itself in a day or two.

"Mama!" Ian spotted her before the Chief did. He wriggled down from where he sat in Taylor's lap, happily stacking blocks on the desk and knocking them over. He toddled toward her at a run. "See!" He held up the small, toy plane he'd been given. "Plane!"

Sharon knelt and caught him when he reached her. She curled her arms around him, hugging him tightly as she stood. "I see it," she replied with a smile. Another toy to add to an ever growing collection. Despite his smiles, he clung to her just as tightly, which belied his cheerful demeanor. She pressed a kiss to his cheek and then his hair. "What did you say?"

Ian fluttered his lashes at her. His smile was a bit devious, and all Flynn. "Tank you," he chirped at the Chief, and then chose to play bashful and bury his face in his mother's shoulder.

From where he stood, Andy shook his head. That's right, he thought, wrap him around your finger. There had to be something redeemable there. "Hey buddy. Let's see that?" Normally, Sharon would have settled Ian on her hip, but she was sporting a deep, purple bruise and favoring that side, from where she had fallen. Nothing serious, or broken, but she would be sore for a day or two.

Sharon let him go when Andy lifted Ian out of her arms. She turned a grateful smile on the Chief. "Thank you for keeping an eye on him. I hope he wasn't any trouble?"

"Nah," Russell leaned back in his chair with a shrug. "We were alright. He's never any trouble for me," he added with a smirk. "Just a couple of guys hanging out."

"Plane," Ian explained to his father with serious expression. "Broom!" He demonstrated, flying it through the air in front of his face. Then it fell, clattering against the floor. Ian wrinkled his nose and looked at his father. "Crashed," he said, shrugging.

Andy snickered. No matter what anyone else might say or think, he was his mother's son. "I see that. We'll have to work on it, huh?"

"Okay," he shrugged again.

Sharon stooped, slowly, to pick it up. "Well, tell the Chief _thank you_ again, Ian. We're going to get you home," she rubbed his back.

"Tank you!" Ian smiled widely and waved the airplane. His attention was fleeting however, and he was back to babbling to his father about the plane, the car, and a puppy.

She shook her head as Andy left with him. "Thank you, Chief. We'll find another contingency plan for the future."

Taylor chuckled. "Captain, even you cannot predict or prevent acts of nature. We'll call this one a one-off. I didn't mind hanging with the little guy, especially with the look on the Lieutenant's face." He beamed. "It's always a pleasure." He leaned forward then, however. "Tell me, any luck on our witness?"

"Detective Sykes and Lieutenant Tao remained at the scene to do the questioning. He seems to have an alibi, we're going to run it down. With nowhere else to go, we've graciously provided him with a comfortable holding room down in Robbery-Homicide for the night. We'll pick it up again in the morning."

"The day wasn't completely lost," Taylor nodded. "Very well Captain, get out of here. You've looked better."

With her hair pulled back into a ponytail and very little makeup to speak of, she was sure that he was correct. Sharon still found herself needing to suppress the urge to roll her eyes. "Chief," she nodded once before following the same path her husband had taken. She was ready to crawl into a bath, and then bed. Sharon wondered, idly, how much she would need to concede her side of the challenge to talk her husband into giving her a massage…


	4. Chapter 4

Everything We Are - Chapter 4

by Kadi

Rated: M

Disclaimer: It's not my sandbox, I'm only visiting for a time.

* * *

On the way home, Sharon spoke to Rusty. Her boy freaked out a bit to learn that they had been trapped, alone, for hours without anyone knowing where they were. Once she calmed him down, she also managed to convince him that he didn't need to drive over to their house for the night. She would rather he stay home, where he was safe. They stopped on their way home and picked up an early dinner, which Sharon carried inside while Andy managed Ian, who had fallen asleep in the car.

They let him sleep while dinner was served, and then their cranky boy was awakened to eat. He wasn't a happy camper, but they kept him awake for another few hours, at least so that he wouldn't be keeping _them _awake all hours of the night. By the time they finally arrived, bath and bedtime could not have come early enough.

After he finally got him down for the night, Andy trudged tiredly across the hall to the bedroom he shared with his wife. He found her seated on the chaise in the corner of the room, dressed in only her bathroom, smoothing lotion onto her legs. Andy dropped the small, plastic plane that he still carried onto the dresser and shook his head. "Really? He spoils the kid more than we do."

Sharon chuckled quietly. "It could be worse," she reminded him.

Not the least bit convinced of that, Andy arched a brow at her. "How so?"

"One or both of us could have been transferred or retired when this farce began," she drawled with a smirk. "Most likely you," she added, eyes dancing with mischief.

His eyes narrowed. "Me?" Andy strolled slowly toward her. "How do you figure?"

The corner of Sharon's mouth twitched toward a wide grin. "Well, as you have pointed out so many times, honey… I didn't climb on top of myself and get pregnant."

"Hm," Andy hummed thoughtfully. "Yes, I see. Thing is," he pointed at her. "I was just following my captain's orders. What am I supposed to do when you're coming onto me so strongly?"

Eyes wide, she laughed incredulously. "_Andy_!" Sharon shook her head at him. "You are horrible."

"Yeah," He smirked. "But you seduced me anyway." Andy rolled his shoulders and walked over. "Scoot," he tapped her shoulder with the back of his hand until she slid forward on the chaise. He swung his leg over, straddling it, and sank down behind her. His hands moved to her shoulders, where he pushed her robe aside and lifted her hair over her shoulder. He could feel the tension knotting her muscles as he began to slowly, gently, rub her shoulders. She was tighter than usual, and he knew her body was stiff from their little adventure, just as his was. "Let me see that," he stopped for the moment and slipped his arms around her, his palms moved over hers, capturing the lotion she had just squeezed onto her hands. Andy leaned back for a moment and rubbed his hands together before he began the massage again.

A low groan rumbled in her throat. It felt so good that it hurt, but she wasn't about to stop him. "Right—" She stopped, he found the knot in her left shoulder before she could direct him, but then he usually did.

"Better?" A small smile curved his lips.

"Mmhm." Her head bowed. He continued to work the same knot until she whimpered quietly as it began to ease and release. "Oh god."

"You can call me whatever makes you happy, sweetheart," Andy grinned, then winced sympathetically when he found another deep, tight knot. With this one, her back arched and her head tilted to the side. Her sharply indrawn breath told him he'd hit just the right spot. "You are all wound up, aren't you?"

"Hm," she curled her legs beneath her and leaned forward, giving him better access to her back. "I wonder why?"

"Hey, I haven't been anywhere with Provenza in over a week," Andy teased. "You can't blame anything on me."

Sharon chuckled. "Who said I was blaming you?"

"Oh," His hands continued to work her back and shoulders. "In that case, carry on then, Captain."

"Nuh uh," she grunted in the negative. "She's not here. Left her in Taylor's office."

Andy snickered quietly. "Poor Taylor…" He grunted when her elbow connected with his stomach. "Hey, ouch. You hurt me, I stop."

"You stop when I tell you to," she drawled playfully.

He heaved a sigh full of feigned exasperation. "I cannot believe I married such bossy witch."

"You seduced me pal," Sharon smirked, eyes still closed. "I was perfectly content to continue—" She trailed off with a squeal when his hand dug into her side. Her eyes narrowed and she shot a glare at him over her shoulder.

"Yeah, see," Andy shook his head. "That _used_ to do something." He waggled his brows at her. "I've got you all figured out now." When her brow arched, he nodded. "Yep."

Her lips pursed while she considered it. Sharon sniffed, just once, and stood up. She lifted her chin and walked regally toward the bed. She said nothing as she began turning back the linens and tossing the extra pillows. If one of them happened to be aimed at his head, well, he would just need to duck.

Andy laughed as he dodged it. He stood up and walked into the bathroom to take his turn at getting ready for bed. When he returned, she was already in bed and facing the wall. Andy slid in alongside her and curled an arm around her waist. She didn't resist when he drug her back against him. "Okay," he rumbled against her ear. "You still scare me a _little_ bit."

Sharon chuckled quietly. She drew her bottom lip between her teeth and curled her legs to tangle with his. His gasp told her that yes, her feet were cold. She smiled happily as she tucked them between his calves and wriggled closer. "You're forgiven," she said, magnanimously.

"Yeah, thanks." He rolled his eyes. "Socks, Sharon, ever heard of them?" His lips brushed the back of her shoulder before he settled against her.

"Hm, you mean those bright, colorful things you keep buying me?" She wrapped her hand around his and drew it up, between her breasts. "My feet like you better." At his grunt, she simply smiled.

"How is the hip?" He asked, remembering the vivid, purple bruise.

"Sore," she said simply. Normally she would have curled against his chest, but it ached too much to lay on. "I'm sure it will feel even more wonderful in the morning, but the bath helped."

"Good." He turned his face into her hair.

His lips moved against her ear and her hand tightened around his. "I love you too," she murmured, and let sleep pull her under.

Andy couldn't say how long he slept. When he woke, it was still dark out, but he was alone in the bed. He rolled onto his back and lay still in the bed, listening. He didn't hear anything, and a glance at the bathroom showed the door open and the light off. Rising, he ran a hand over his face and made his way out into the hall. The gate at the top of the stairs was open, and he knew Sharon would never leave it. Upon reaching the stairs, he noted the bottom gate was closed and realized she would have taken Ian downstairs if he was being difficult.

Andy started down the stairs with a yawn. As he neared the midway point, he could see into the living room. He spied his wife, laying on the sofa. The television was on, with a child's movie playing quietly. Andy stepped through the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs and secured it. When he rounded the sofa, he wasn't surprised to see Ian laying against her chest, head against her shoulder. He had his fingers in his mouth, a habit that Sharon was still trying to break. What concerned him was the warm compress that she had pressed against his ear. He leaned over the back of the sofa, arms resting against the top of the cushions. "Another one?"

Sharon glanced up from where she lay, holding the compress with one hand, gently stroking her son's back with the other. "Yes," she said quietly. With the hand that held the compress, her thumb gently brushed her son's brow. "Explains his mood yesterday. He wasn't feeling great." His little body was like an oven against her, but the fever wasn't too high. Ear infections, painful and unfortunate, and so horrible for the little ones. "I'll call Doctor Headly's office in the morning," she said, speaking of the Pediatrician.

"Want me to take him for a while?" Andy reached down and rubbed his back. When Ian seemed to understand and burrowed closer to his mother with a whimper, he chuckled. "Or not. Wants mom when he feels bad, can't say I blame him."

She simply shrugged at him and pressed her lips against the top of her son's head. "We'll be okay here. Go back to bed." It wasn't Ian's first ear infection, and she was sure it wouldn't be the last. She had gone through this with Charlotte.

"Sure?" With Sharon, if she told him to go back to bed, he knew that she meant it. They'd both had a hell of a day though, and he didn't like leaving her alone with a sick baby. His ex-wife on the other hand, would have sent him to bed, then gotten mad because he went. It was just another way in which they differed. She didn't play ridiculous head games.

"Yes." Sharon touched his arm, briefly. "One of us needs to be coherent in the morning," she drawled tiredly. "We're okay here, really. I think we're just going to finish this up, and then maybe see if we feel like sleeping some more," she said, speaking more to the toddler in her arms. "What you can do," Sharon lifted her gaze to Andy again, "is get me another of these," she indicated the compress which had already started growing too cool to be of any help.

"You got it." Andy took the compress from her, and leaned further over the back of the sofa to drop a light kiss to her mouth.

Sharon combed her fingers through Ian's hair while they waited for him to return. When he did, and knelt beside the sofa, she chuckled quietly at his popping knees. "I'm not going to be able to get you up from there," she teased.

Andy groaned. "We're getting too old for this." He handed over the compress and let her test it before it was placed against the boy's ear.

"Getting?" Sharon snickered. "Honey, we were too old for this _before_ it started. You might remember a little conversation we had about age…" And things that weren't _supposed _to happen, such as getting pregnant in their fifties. Utterly ridiculous and completely laughable this farce that was their life, but given the choice, they wouldn't give it back either. No matter how often she wondered if their son deserved better, _more_.

"Hm." He grunted at her. Andy rose, knees creaking, and grimaced. It had definitely been a hell of a day, but he was already old and stiff. Getting tossed around by collapsing stairwells had just made it worse. "Don't listen to mom pal," he tapped his son's nose. "She gets a little loopy when she's tired. We're not old. It's all in her head."

"Mmhm." Her shoulders shook with silent laughter. "And my back, my knees, my neck, your—"

"Yeah, yeah," he bent and kissed her again. "I don't need a rundown of everything that aches, pops, creaks, and doesn't bend the way it's supposed to anymore. I've got a pretty up close and personal accounting of it all." He pressed a kiss to Ian's forehead as well before straightening. "Try to get some rest. Night old woman."

Her eyes narrowed, although they glittered in amusement. Sharon shook her head at him as he headed toward the stairs. "I thought I didn't look a day over twenty-five?"

"I'm taking it back," Andy drawled. "Beleaguered husband's prerogative."

"Oh!" Sharon's eyes lit. She giggled quietly. "Big words. You stole Provenza's crossword again didn't you?"

"Not telling." Andy secured the baby gate behind him and started up the stairs. "I can't give away all my secrets. Once the mystery goes, so too does the romance."

"Romance?" Sharon snorted. "You're cute."

"Thin ice baby," he warned, a note of amusement in his tone. "Thin ice."

Sharon giggled quietly again and lay her cheek against the top of her son's head. "When you get ready to talk to girls," she said quietly, "we'll sit you down with Uncle Julio."

"Heard that." Andy leaned over the banister to glare at her. "Really?"

Her lips pressed into a thin, curved line. With her eyes glittering playfully, she shrugged at him. "Not Julio?"

"Just keep talkin' Sharon." Andy shook his head at her. Ian was looking up at him too. He twirled his finger beside his temple. "Loopy," he told his son.

She waited for him to draw away and start up the stairs again. "Okay fine," she said. "You can talk to your Uncle Russ—"

"_Sharon_."

She laughed at the plaintive sound of her husband's voice. "Goodnight, Andy." Ian just looked up at her, bewildered by their behavior. She winked at him and he smiled. "Can you say goodnight?"

"Night Daddy," he called, in a much smaller voice.

"Thank you baby," she drew the throw blanket back up around him and settled back, getting comfortable again.

The toddler wriggled closer. He tucked his head under her chin and sighed. "Mama ow."

He was beginning to whine again. Sharon reached for her watch, which lay on the end table behind her head. She squinted at it without her glasses. He had another hour before she could give him anymore medicine. "I know, honey." She went back to rubbing his back and combing the fingers of the hand which held the compress through his hair. Her body ached, but she rocked him gently anyway. Her head was pounding, but she forced her eyes to remain open. It was, she knew, going to be a long night.

The next time Andy woke it was with the alarm, and he wasn't surprised to find the bed empty. He crept down the stairs, quietly this time, as the lower level was dark. He eased into the living room and glanced over the side of the sofa. They were both asleep, Sharon with her back pressed against the sofa cushions and Ian curled against her. Andy drew the blanket over both of them before he eased into the kitchen to start the coffee brewing.

He moved as silently as possible, not wanting to wake her. When his phone began to buzz, he rolled his eyes. It was from his partner, naturally. Andy stepped out onto the back deck with it, to keep from waking his wife or son. "What?"

"Why are you whispering," Provenza groused.

"Because Sharon and Ian are sleep on the sofa. He's sick and she's been up with him all night. Why are you being such a grouch?" Andy fired back, it was second nature by now.

"Because I haven't had my breakfast yet, and our _witness_ suddenly remembered something he needs to tell us. It just can't wait another minute," he drawled sarcastically.

"Yeah?" Andy rolled his eyes. "So go find out what he wants. You don't need me to hold your hand."

"Ah, ah," Provenza smirked. "You just, pretty much, called in for the _wife_. That means, _I__'__m_ in charge. Go find out what the bozo with the temper wants, I'm going to eat my breakfast."

"Seriously?" Andy looked skyward and asked for patience. "Yeah, fine. I'll talk to the idiot. Tell you what, when I get done, you and I—" he trailed off at the loud crunching in his ear.

"Sorry," Provenza mumbled. "My bacon's getting cold. Talk to you soon!"

Andy pulled his phone away from his ear and stared at it. "That grouchy old ass just hung up on me." He shook his head and walked back inside. He would get even, eventually. He reflected that maybe it was time to turn Ian loose with Uncle Louie's desk again… with some watercolors. Finger painting was fun for toddlers, wasn't it?

Andy smirked all the way back inside. He waited for the coffee to finish brewing and then poured a cup before taking it upstairs and sliding into the shower. He managed to shower, dress, and make his way back downstairs all without Sharon or Ian even moving. He hated to wake her, but leaned over the sofa anyway. His lips were gentle against her cheek, and then her ear. "Going in to the office. Love you."

"Mmhm," she hummed quietly and nodded. "Okay, love you," she murmured, eyes fluttering, but never opening.

He chuckled quietly. Andy drew away and sent a text to her phone, since he doubted she would remember. He ran a hand over Ian's forehead, happy to see that he felt much cooler to the touch. There was just something about nighttime and sick kids, he thought. Damned odd, but something just the same. He lingered only a moment longer before he forced himself to leave.

A few hours later, Andy looked up from the notes he was typing up on the case at the familiar staccato of heels entering the murder room. He glanced over, somewhat surprised to see Sharon striding into the room. Aside from the barely there bruising and the small cut on her cheek, he could hardly tell that anything at all was out of the ordinary. She certainly didn't look as though they'd been trapped in a semi-collapsed building just a day previously, nor did she appear to have been up all night with a sick kid. He was on his third cup of coffee. How she did it, he'd never know. There were times when he wondered _what_ she even was.

"I wasn't expecting to see you," he said, only mildly disappointed that she was in pants rather than a skirt. "How's the kid?"

"Better," she assured him. "It's what we thought. Rusty is with him." She paused beside his desk with a smile. "Is there some reason that you thought I shouldn't be here, Lieutenant?"

The gleam in her eyes had him leaning toward her slightly, head tilted. "I can't think of any, Captain."

"Yee-gods," Provenza groaned. "Could the two of you do that somewhere else?" After more than two years, they were still trying to flirt without _looking_ like they were flirting… and still failing abysmally. "There are people here who are actually trying to work!"

Sharon blinked slowly. She smiled serenely at him. "Yes, I see that." Her lips pursed for just a moment and then she turned slightly. "My apologies, Lieutenant Tao." With a gleeful smirk, Sharon strode into her office, making obvious he was the only one there she believed to be doing any work at all… given Sanchez and Sykes were no where to be found, and she didn't see Buzz either.

Andy frowned after her. "Hey, I was working."

From where she was storing her purse n her desk, Sharon glanced at him. Her brow arched. She tilted her head at him, looking rather unconvinced. "Of course you were," she drawled.

"I was." Andy scowled. "Until _you_ distracted me."

At his desk, Provenza grunted. "First the flirting, then the squabbling, next thing we know there's foreplay and someone around here is changing diapers again." He slapped his crossword against his desk and bent over it.

Andy rolled his eyes before leaning back in his chair. He stretched his long legs out in front of him, beneath the desk, and crossed them at the ankles. "What's the matter, Partner. Jealous?"

His face screwed up in disgust. "God no." Provenza shuddered. "She would be so lucky."

His partner snorted. He was fairly certain that would be the other way around. Andy shook his head. "You know, if you did more working and less eavesdropping, you wouldn't have to hear the flirting, the squabbling, or any of the rest of it," he pointed out.

Provenza smirked. Here came the opening he'd been hoping for. He fixed his partner with his narrow-eyed, gleeful expression. "Ah, but if you had done a little more working and a little less flirting, you wouldn't be looking at another sixteen years of sleepless nights, expensive toys, and a nagging wife."

Andy looked away and shook his head again. Here they went. He could almost quote the lecture when it began. "I told you not to do it," he in toned, under his breath, even as his partner began. "You never listen to me, if you had listened to me, you could be enjoying your golden years looking at gorgeous blondes, and instead, here you are…" Andy rolled his eyes. "You're tied down with a wife, with a kid, and to make it all worse, it had to be your boss. Not just your boss, _my_ boss too!"

From where he sat, Tao bowed his head and laughed quietly. He cast a look at the two of them and shook his head. This was an almost weekly occurrence. "The financial report is in," He said, amusement tingeing his voice. "We can place Matthews within a mile of the producer hours before we think he was killed."

It was enough to draw the Lieutenant's attention back. Provenza scowled. "LAFD is letting us into the apartment building today," he said, when the Captain reappeared. "We got a warrant to search it. No evidence at the dumpsite, but maybe our temper tantrum having actor friend didn't get rid of everything. Sykes and Sanchez are there now with Buzz and SID."

Her brow arched, "And the two of you are…" She trailed off, gesturing between the pair of them.

Andy swiveled in his chair. "Mike and I did the interview this morning, then we went down and spoke to Morales. I was putting the report together for you, ma'am." Because he knew it would irritate his partner to no end, he tossed in a crooked, flirty grin.

Sharon's eyes narrowed, just slightly and she gave a barely there shake of her head. _Behave_, she thought. "Anything new on that end," she asked, turning her attention to Mike.

"Unfortunately not, Captain." He turned his chair toward her. "I can put our guy _near_ the victim, but I cannot put our guy _with_ the victim. In the meantime, Doctor Morales pulled the SID report on the particulates and evidence found on the body and nothing was specific to the suspect. No hairs, prints, or DNA."

"No, because that would be easy," Andy groused.

"If it were easy, we wouldn't be here gentlemen," Sharon nodded. "Keep me updated. I have an incident report to complete," she rolled her eyes and turned back toward her office. She needed to write up the exact accounting of how she and Lieutenant Flynn had come to be trapped in the apartment building.

"Incident report, really?" Provenza smirked. "Sounds like a PSB requirement. I wonder where in the world _that_ rule came from."

Sharon glanced back at him. A crooked grin lifted the corner of her mouth. "Lieutenant, I appreciate that you believe that I am all knowing and all powerful, but there are some things which were in place long before I ever came along."

Andy snickered when she turned away, hair swishing behind her and almost _flounced _into her office. "In other words, put a sock in it, yeah?"

"Yeah, well I would," he grumbled, attention going back to his crossword. "But they're all in the break room so that you never don't have one when you want to toss one onto the doorknob and make out with the _little woman_."

Mike rolled his eyes. He should have gone with Julio. "Oy," he said, and turned back to his computer.

When Amy and Julio returned, with evidence from the apartment, they found out that the earthquake wasn't quite so much of an imposition after all. Thanks to being tossed out of his place, their suspect had not had time to get rid of _all_ the evidence, and they'd found what they believed was the murder weapon. It was being sent to Morales for testing. In the meantime, their suspect was officially being held for formal questioning, and had been read his rights.

They could wait until they had the results from Morales to question him again, so Sharon sent the team home for the night. After grabbing his keys and his phone, Andy poked his head into her office. "Dinner?"

Sharon looked up from the reports she needed to finish before leaving. Her nose wrinkled. "We had takeout last night, and the night before that, _and__…"_ She trailed off with a warm smile. "It would be nice if we actually _used_ the kitchen from time to time."

Andy leaned against open door and grinned. "Yeah, I hear ya." He reached up and scratched his thumb across his forehead. "I'm not sure what we've got. Tell you what, I'll swing into the market and grab something. Are you going to be long?" His brow arched, his head tilted.

She smiled again. It was that concerned and curious expression he got sometimes, when she worked later than he would prefer. "Not too much longer." Sharon considered the paperwork on her desk. "Half an hour maybe? I won't be too far behind you," she promised.

"Good." He tapped his knuckles against the door frame and straightened. "Any preferences?"

"No." There was affection in her gaze before she let it drop to her paperwork again. "I'll see you soon."

"See that you do." He winked before he turned.

Sharon glanced up and watched him make his way out of the Murder Room with a smile. After another moment, she shook her head and went back to work. _That man__… _She never meant to fall in love with him. Considering their professional history, she never meant to actually _like_ him, if she was honest about it. He just kept throwing curve balls at her, and she just kept wanting to swing at them. It was a bit odd how she couldn't quite reconcile how lonely she was _before_ he and Rusty came along. She wished they could have had this years ago, but it was their lives which had shaped them into the people that meshed so well today. Still, starting over again, at their age… married and raising a child. They were meant to be raising their grandchildren together. It was ludicrous, inconvenient, and yet strangely wonderful. Even now, when she was so tired that the ends of her hair ached, she loved him more than she ever thought possible. Sharon didn't honestly believe she would be able to face the changes they'd experienced with anyone else. Somehow, despite the lunacy of it all, or maybe in spite of it… it was working.

Damned if that wasn't the craziest part of all of it!


	5. Chapter 5

Everything We Are - Chapter 5

by Kadi

Rated: M

Disclaimer: It's not my sandbox, I'm only visiting for a time.

* * *

A little ground shaking in California was a normal occurrence. Routines were back to normal within just hours of the event. In the Flynn household, it took a couple of days. Proving that children were incredibly resilient, Ian was feeling better in a matter of just a day or two, and seemed not to remember either ordeal.

With Ian still so young, Sharon tried to work from home at least a few times each month. It didn't always work out well, but she tried her very best. She also tried to time it so that they had an extended weekend together, whenever possible. The occurrences didn't happen often, but she felt better for the attempt. It was something she also tried to allow Andy to do, but in their positions, it was tenuous, and it couldn't be seen as nepotism.

It had been more than a month since the last time she had that opportunity. The first time it came up again, Sharon took advantage of it without guilt or hesitation. Rusty had started his work at the Mayor's office, and it would carry him through summer and into the autumn months. She was seeing him a little less than they were accustomed to, but they had expected that there would be some long work hours ahead of him in the new job. He wasn't doing more than answering phones and filing, but it was an excellent learning opportunity, and he seemed to be having the time of his life. Sharon took heart at that.

Normally, on a day when Sharon wasn't working, if Rusty wasn't in class, she would have both of her boys with her. With Rusty working, her attention was focused entirely on her youngest son. They spent the day rather leisurely. Breakfast, and then a drive out to the mall. Mother and son spent a couple of peaceful hours browsing and shopping, and then it was time for a much needed market visit. A lack of time to grocery shop had meant ordering out far more than Sharon preferred of late. She intended to correct that, post haste, as a certain DDA would have said.

By the time they made it home with all for their purchases, it was time for Ian's nap. He was letting her know with his plaintive whining and the way he just didn't seem to be thrilled with anything that she did. As she put the last of the groceries away, and he threw his sippy cup across the kitchen, Sharon fixed him with a pointed look.

"I understand you're not happy, little man, but no." She pointed a finger at him, her gaze unwavering. He kicked the tray of his high chair in a fit of temper that his father would have been proud of and her eyebrow went up. "Ian."

The toddler covered his face and his head fell back. He whined loudly. "Mama." He thrust his arms toward her. "Up!" He demanded plaintively.

"We'll go soon," she promise. She picked up the cup and cleaned the minor mess it had made. After depositing it in the sink, she put away the grocery bags and finally moved to the highchair to free the unhappy toddler. Sharon lifted him onto her hip. "Is that better?" When he simply lay his head against her shoulder, she rubbed his back and sighed. Just like his father she couldn't stay upset with him for long. She lay her cheek against his head and swayed with him where she stood. "Okay, alright. I'm sorry. We'll go up and get that nap now."

Sharon carried her tired son up the stairs and lay him in his bed. She started the music playing with the nightlight beside his bed and closed the blinds and curtains in his room. It dimmed it, but didn't darken it completely. Fortunately, her son was still a fairly good sleeper. Sharon knelt beside the toddler bed and rubbed his back until his eyes drooped and closed completely. When he was completely silent, she drew quietly away. She made sure that the baby monitor was on, and that the gate at the top of the stairs was secured, and went downstairs to get some actual work completed.

Much as she had with her condo, she didn't have an actual office. She spent enough time shut away, she believed. Instead, her desk was set up in a corner of the living room, in front of two wide windows which overlooked the back of the house, with the deck and pool beyond. She sat there with her computer, and a small stack of files. Sharon checked in with the team, wrapped up reports and time sheets, and managed to get much more done at home than was typically possible in the office - where her administrative duties were concerned at least.

There was a time when she would have never dreamed of bringing work home with her. When Ricky and Charlotte were younger, especially after Jack left, home was home, and her time there was focused entirely upon her children. She felt that they'd needed her more than even Vice and later FID had. She had worked long hours, and there were times she'd gone without sleep for far longer than was probably healthy, but somehow it all managed to work out. She was always there for her children. She wanted to give the same to Rusty, and now Ian. Unfortunately, not bringing her work home with her was no longer an possibility.

She found a balance, somehow, within herself where she was able to accept that by bringing the office into her home, she was able to spend more time with her children. And of course… she took home to the office everyday. Even if she did maintain a strict distance between herself and her husband. Sharon considered that as she sent the last time sheet to Chief Taylor and signed off for the day, just in time to hear Ian rattling the baby gate to get her attention. He had played quietly in his room upon waking, but now he was ready for company other than his own.

"Hey buddy." Sharon made her way up the stairs. She opened the gate before lifting him into her arms. They made their way back to his room to gather a few things and freshen up before making their way back downstairs. Once the stairs were secure again, she let Ian down to explore while she closed off the kitchen and foyer. "Okay, go wreck everything!"

Ian had a small toy box in the corner and he went directly to it. It was a square, plastic structure that was light and easy for him to pull out from beneath the end table where it was stored. Once out, he began systematically pulling out every toy and inspecting it before he chose which he wanted to play with. This went along with the ever present matchbox police car and the newest addition of the plastic airplane from Chief Taylor. "Plane!" He ran back and forth between his toy box and where his mother sat on the sofa, showing her each item as it was taken out. Finally, he took his cars and plane to the coffee table and pushed everything off it as he began playing.

"I knew that I could count on you," she drawled, watching as the mess quickly piled up. Sharon watched him play for a few minutes, and then she wandered into the kitchen to start dinner. She left the gate open, so that Ian could move freely between the two rooms. Usually he would follow her, never staying out of her proximity for too long. His toys would inevitably follow him, and the key was not tripping over them as she moved around the kitchen. It was also not unusual for him to wander back to the living room while she cooked, especially if the television was on, as it was now.

While Sharon prepped a roast for dinner, she cast occasional looks into the living room when Ian would become too quiet. When she was satisfied that he was fine, she turned her attention to chopping vegetables: potatoes, carrots, and onions. Intent on her work, when she heard the sound of blocks clattering across the kitchen floor, she didn't look up. "Ian, I'm going to change your name to seek and destroy, honey."

"Whose child did you steal this time? Mine wasn't enough for you?"

The voice was familiar enough. Sharon placed it easily. Of course, how would she forget? There was a moment where her heart stopped beating completely, and then pounded quickly, painfully against her chest. Her hand clenched tightly around the chopping knife that she held. She drew a breath as she turned and felt it, and all the air in her lungs, leave her body at the sight of Daniel Dunn holding her child.

Both her hands were clenched. Her nails bit into her palms. Sharon fought hard to keep her face neutral. "Daniel," there was a quiver in her tone that couldn't be helped. He didn't look quite as polished as he had two years ago. His hair was longer, and it was a bit stringy. His clothes weren't nearly as well kept, or as expensive. It seemed Daniel Dunn had fallen on some harder times. The question remained, what was he doing there, and how had he found them? "What… how?" She clenched her teeth together and attempted a calming breath. "What are you doing here," she finally managed in a low, thick voice. Her gaze flickered to Ian and he seemed bewildered, but otherwise okay for the moment. He was studying the stranger.

"It isn't hard to find someone when you look hard enough," He stated. "Isn't that right? I mean, you found me, didn't you?" Daniel gazed at the child in his arms. "It isn't as though I didn't know where you work. From there, it wasn't hard to follow you home. I was really interested though to see you with another kid. I mean, at your age… but I guess you have a thing about taking peoples' children away from them. Who was it this time, hm? Which unsuspecting putz did you blackmail out of their son?"

Something in the way his arm tightened around him alarmed Ian. He shot a look at his mother and held out a hand. "Mama?"

"Oh, that's cute." Daniel chuckled, but there was no true mirth in it. "So, I guess you figured… what? Rusty was too old to really bring to heel. So you started with a younger one? Now you've got this poor kid thinking that you're actually his mother. That is truly pathetic. What's wrong Captain… your own kids finally realized what a cold, manipulative bitch you truly are?"

Sharon's jaw clenched again. She took a single step forward. She watched him closely, and continued to hold the knife at her side. She would not allow him to bring her children into this, and certainly not Rusty. "Daniel," her voice shook, but it was anger mixing with the fear. "You don't understand. I'm sorry if you're upset with me, but Ian is—"

"Another unfortunate brat you've gotten your mitts into?" He snorted. "What was the point this time? You can't hide it behind the mask of protecting a material witness," he sneered. "Are you really that lonely? It must not be easy being despised by so many."

Her eyes flickered to Ian when he began to whimper and reached for her again. "Daniel, Ian isn't a foster child. He isn't adopted. He's mine." She took another step forward, drew a shallow breath. "We can talk about whatever grievances you have with me, but he doesn't know you, and I'd like to—"

"I don't think so." Daniel took a half step back and turned the child away from her. "Yours?" He laughed. "You expect me to believe that? That not only are you not all shriveled and dried up inside, but someone actually slept with _you_?" He shook his head. "I'm not an idiot!" He yelled. "You think I don't know what you're capable of? You ruined my whole life! You took my son, you stole my life, and you think I care what _you_ want right now?"

"Daniel!" Sharon took two, hurried steps forward when Ian cried out sharply at the change in the man's demeanor. She let the knife drop from her hand to clatter against the tile beneath her feet. Whatever else he thought of her, he had obviously found her weakness in her children, and was exploiting it.

"No!" The gun appeared in his hand from where it had been stored in the waist of his jeans, behind his back. He pointed it at her. "You don't get to make the rules this time, _Captain_." His hand shook slightly, but the gun remain pointed at her face. "This time, _I _will be making the rules. I thought maybe I would come here, and we would discuss the way in which you could begin to repair the damage that you did. But now, now I think we're going to do things a little differently. Now I see you've done it again." His smile was cruel, his eyes shone darkly. "Maybe, maybe you need to know what it feels like to lose everything. Maybe if _you_ lose something, you'll understand just how pathetic and wrong you really are."

He walked toward her with the gun, and while a chill settled low in her stomach, she stood her ground. "Shh," she crooned quietly, at Ian's crying and reaching for her. Her eyes flickered back to Daniel. "What do you want me to do?" She asked, voice dropping to scarcely above a whisper.

Daniel stopped. He seemed to consider that. "Nothing." He bounced the child in his arms. "Nothing at all. Except… I want you to know what it feels like to lose everything that's important to you. Now it's your turn, Captain, to be told that you'll never see your son again."

Before she could process the panic, or the anger, he swung the gun around. She was expecting that he might try to shoot her, but she saw stars when it collided with her head. Lights went off behind her eyes, and pain exploded through her skull. She was knocked sideways, into the cabinet. A sharp pain went through her side as she collided with it, and her knees buckled beneath her. Sharon hit the floor, hard, and was vaguely aware of Ian's high pitched screams, slowly fading in the distance, as darkness closed in on her.

When Sharon sent him the text, asking which vegetables that he wanted with the roast she was making for herself and Ian, Andy's mouth watered at the thought. He was still a vegetarian, but there was just something in the way that Sharon made it that made him almost want to go back to red meat. _Almost_. She made this glaze for the steamed asparagus that had his heart a flutter, and the baste for the roast, which she added to the onions, potatoes, and carrots… Andy loved it when she felt like indulging her more domestic side. It was a side of Sharon that few ever experienced.

He knew when he got home, the house would be filled with the aroma of dinner. She would probably be folding the last of the laundry, or playing with Ian. There were some nights that he got home and Sharon was in the floor, with their son, directing his play in a way that was completely educational, but fun. He flourished with the attention, and it was a delight to witness. Yoga pants and her hair in a messy ponytail, they would be counting blocks as they stacked them for him to destroy, or identifying animals as he had them chase one another.

His son would sit in the cradle of his mother's legs, and they would simply _play_. It was… Andy had no words to describe it. His wife could be a dangerous, calculating woman, of that there was no doubt. He had seen her in action, the beanbag gun immediately came to mind. There had been other instances as well… beating down a door in her bare feet to get to Rusty and Wade Weller, although unwitnessed by him, he could imagine it easily. They had been to the range together a hundred times, her aim never faltered. She had taken him down in the gym, and he might have let her, just a little, but he couldn't deny that had she really been into it, he'd have been hurting. She wasn't superwoman, not by any means. She simply worked hard at anything she did. She set her mind to something and she did not give up.

She was simply amazing. Perhaps he was biased. Andy didn't know. He just knew that pulling into his driveway, he was suffused with this feeling. It was more than love, or happiness. Joy, perhaps, although there was little of that in his past. It was warmth. He was excited to walk through the door each evening, even when he could barely drag his feet he was so tired. Even when they were arguing over idiotic, petty things, he couldn't wait to see her again. He liked to see her lose her temper, the way her cheeks flushed and her eyes flashed. Andy glanced at his watch as he got out of his car. It was early enough, and he knew that she had taken one of her work-from-home days to be with Ian. He imagined he'd find them playing.

He made his way up the walk, and once inside, Andy dropped his jacket over the bannister of the staircase. He chuckled at the state the living room was in. There were toys strewn everywhere. The house wasn't quite filled with the aromas he expected, but he could detect roasting meat and a bit of onion. "Hey babe, I'm home." Andy stepped over toys and stooped, picking up a few of them. "Seek and destroy strikes again, I see. Hey bud, where are you?"

Andy didn't spot him in the living room, and glanced into the kitchen. Nor did he immediately see his wife, but the gate at the bottom of the stairs was locked. Andy moved to the french doors which opened onto the deck. They were still latched. "Sharon?" Lips pursed, he turned and walked toward the kitchen to check on the state of dinner. As he moved into the room, he tripped over a pile of blocks. That was unlike her. Sharon was good at keeping Ian's toys out of the kitchen, for the most part. "You worry about me spoiling him," he teased.

While he was standing in the kitchen, his brows drew together in confusion. The roast was in the oven, but the vegetables she was preparing with it were not completed. He found that odd. His gaze quickly swept the kitchen. On the other side of the center island, he spied a pair of legs sprawled and very familiar. "Sharon!" Andy rounded it quickly and slid to his knees beside her.

Her hair was obscuring her face and seemed matted on the side facing him. His heart was pushed into his throat. He felt his stomach knot tightly. His hands shook when he reached for her. "Sharon, sweetheart…" When he touched her, she moaned, and it was possibly the sweetest sound he'd ever heard. Andy swept her hair back without moving her too much and found the source of the bleeding. A cut in her hair, above her ear. There was a knot there as well, which indicated a head wound. "Hey." He leaned down close and cupped her face gently, but left her laying on her side. "Look at me baby, open those eyes." They fluttered, but didn't open. Andy sat back on his heels and looked around the kitchen again. "Ian, buddy," he called. "It's okay pal, come on out." There was nothing, and the house was fairly well closed off.

Andy reached for his phone, a terrible thought occurring as he called for backup and a bus. Sharon was injured and unconscious, where the hell was his son?


	6. Chapter 6

Everything We Are - Chapter 6

by Kadi

Rated: M

Disclaimer: It's not my sandbox, I'm only visiting for a time.

* * *

Critical missings were worked by Major Crimes. Had his partner not called him, directly, Provenza was sure the address would have given him a heart attack when it came across his phone. As it was, he reached the house owned by Flynn and the Captain to find several squad cars and an ambulance already parked in front of it. On the street there were also several unmarked cars and, he nodded to Sykes. She was seated with Rusty on the curb, keeping the kid out of the way. He had sent her to fetch the boy just as soon as Flynn called him. He wanted Rusty in hand before the Amber Alert hit the airwave and the kid could panic.

As it was, the Amber alert was out, with description of Ian Flynn, and as he understood it… recently updated to include a description of Daniel Dunn. As he approached the house and started up the steps to the porch, he spied his partner seated on the front step, arms draped over his knees and head hanging forward. Provenza didn't jog, and he didn't run, but he could be inclined to walk quickly. He moved up the steps and knelt beside him. "Flynn." He touched his shoulder.

Andy lifted his head slowly, but he was staring straight ahead, toward the ambulance. "She's conscious, and they're getting ready to take her to Cedars," he said quietly, voice devoid of emotion. "Dunn… It was Dunn, he came into the house and he took Ian. She ruined his life. He's ruining hers. That's all she really managed to get out before they got her in the bus."

Provenza scowled. Yes, that figured. The no good deadbeat would want to make someone pay for his own failings. People like him were all the same. "What are you doing sitting here for?"

When he looked at him, his eyes were more focused inward. "Where would I go? It's a Major Crime."

He was a man torn between going with his wife and staying to look for his son, Provenza realized suddenly. He didn't know where he was supposed to be, or where it was he _should_ be. He knew where he _wanted_ to be, but he couldn't be in two places at once. Provenza nodded slowly. "You can't work the case," he said carefully. "You can go with the Captain, see if she remembers anymore… Take the kid with you." He nodded to where Rusty was bent forward, hands in his hair.

"And when my wife wants to know why I'm not finding our son," He asked dully. "Then what do I tell her?"

"I think she'll understand," Provenza replied quietly, gently for him. "If anyone understands how the rules are supposed to work, it's that one. Flynn, go. She's going to need you close."

He nodded slowly and ran a hand through his hair. "I know, I just…" Andy heaved a sigh. "How the hell did that son of a bitch get into the house, how—"

"All things we're going to figure out." Provenza stood up. "Now, I need you to get out of here. We need to… we have to process the scene and start canvassing. The guys aren't going to be comfortable doing that with you hanging around glaring at everyone."

"Yeah, alright." Andy stood up. He remained where he was for a moment before he slanted a look at his partner. "Find him." His dark eyes burned intensely. "If you've never done anything for me before, _find __him_." He couldn't put it into words, this gut wrenching terror. He could barely breathe, barely swallow past it. It was a heavy weight in his gut, threatening to drag him down.

"I will." He said seriously. "I will find him. Don't worry about that. We are going to track Dunn down and he had better pray that the uniforms get to him first." Provenza slapped his partner's shoulder. "You know, we all love that kid," he said haltingly. This whole, emotions and feelings thing wasn't him. He might give his partner a hell of a lot of crap about it, but that was just them. "We're going to find him."

"Nothing is going to happen to that boy." Russell Taylor had joined them. He stood at the bottom of the steps, in uniform, looking at both of them. "We've got birds in the air, a description of Dunn's vehicle based on DMV registration has been put out. We're going to find him."

"Yeah." That was all Andy said. They'd find him. Question was, would he still be alive? They didn't know how unstable Dunn was, and from the way he'd attacked Sharon, he was pretty damned out there in Andy's book. "Yeah," he repeated and walked down the steps.

They watched him move down the walk. He stopped beside Rusty and whatever he said to the kid, he reached down and lay a hand on his shoulder. Rusty nodded and stood up. Then he went and got in Flynn's car. "We do this by the book," Taylor said quietly, slowly.

"Chief, with all due respect," Provenza replied. "We report to Captain Raydor, and t_his_ team doesn't know any other way." That said, he turned and walked into the house, where Tao and Sanchez were already riding herd on SID while Buzz took video.

From where he stood, Taylor watched Andy step up into the back of the ambulance for a moment. Whatever was said, when he stepped out a minute later, the doors were closed and the ambulance left the scene. She was waiting, of course she was waiting. If she was even remotely conscious, Raydor wasn't going to do anything that wasn't on her own timetable. Taylor shook his head. He turned toward the house and sighed. Into the lion's den, it seemed.

"Sanchez, Tao," Provenza put on booties before he walked through the house. They were preserving as much evidence as they could. By the book, as they'd said. "What have we got?"

The pair looked at each other and Julio strode forward. He was fair to brimming with excess energy, vibrating with the need to do _something_. "We have the Lieutenant's statement, sir. The door was locked when he got here, and there's no sign of forced entry on that door or any of the others. The house was locked up, with the exception of the front entrance. We didn't find any raised or damaged windows, either." They moved together through the foyer to the living room. "Lieutenant Flynn said that when he arrived, the television was on, and a DVD was playing." Sanchez indicated the wide screen with his gloved fingers.

Provenza glanced toward it. It had been paused. His head inclined, he squinted, trying to figure out what the odd characters were. Finally he shook his head. "Whatever happened to Tom and Jerry," he grumbled.

"Bubble Guppies," Julio said quietly. He was staring at his notepad. "He likes it to be on when he's playing in here…" He had babysat the boy a few times, he was familiar with the routine.

"Right." Provenza sighed. "Keep going, Julio."

"The toys were the way they are now." Sanchez indicated the floor. Officers and SID were stepping in and around. "The child likes to take everything out, scatter it, like most kids," he shrugged. "The Lieutenant said he didn't see his son, he called out to him, but there wasn't an answer." Sanchez pointed to the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs. "That was still secured, as was the gate across the foyer where we first came in. Lieutenant Flynn opened it when he arrived. He stated that of the downstairs gates, only the gate in the kitchen was already open when he got here, but that's not unusual. The Captain lets Ian move back and forth between the two rooms while she's cooking."

"The patio doors were still locked," Tao jumped in. He pointed at the latched doors. "We took prints from the inside and out, but there's no sign of entry or tampering. The doors were locked when we arrived, and they were locked when Lieutenant Flynn got here as well. He said that he turned and walked into the kitchen, and that is where he found the Captain."

Provenza walked the path, from the door where he imagined Flynn must have stood, into the kitchen. He stepped over the matchbox police car, and was careful to skirt around the blocks. "Okay, what happened next," he stated, not wanting to think too heavily about it.

"The Lieutenant noticed that dinner should have been mostly finished, but it was hardly prepared," Sanchez walked over to the cabinet, where the half prepared vegetables remained. "The oven was on, we've turned it off. He found the Captain here." He pointed to the spot on the floor where there were a few drops and smears of blood. Nothing significant. "She was unconscious and barely responsive when the Lieutenant tried to revive her."

"So we think," Tao stood at the counter. "The Captain was here. The knife on the floor here, has residue on it from the vegetables." He indicated the knife still at his feet. "So the captain was standing here, making dinner…"

"And we think the son of a bitch came up behind her," Julio concluded. "He clocked her with something, took Ian, and left her here. Injured, bleeding, and possibly even dead."

"But she saw him," Provenza pointed out. "She was able to identify Daniel Dunn as her assailant."

"True," Tao said. "Which is why I think she heard him. She turned," he mimicked the motion. "She saw who it was, and… then he must have hit her. There are no signs of a struggle. The Captain had no defensive wounds. We only have the single head wound."

"Which begs the question," Provenza said. "How did he get in?" He looked between the two of them. "Flynn said the door was locked when he got here."

"Could he have locked it on the way out to throw us off," Sanchez asked.

"SID has prints, they're going to run them for Dunn. We took sprints from the lock and the handle," Mike replied. "If he did, we'll know about it."

"Alright, alright," Provenza held up a hand. "That does us no good unless we find out if the Captain had it locked or not. If not, and he came in that way, then he screwed with us. If it was… then he got in some other way."

"I don't lock my front door," Julio said automatically. "Baby gate was up in the foyer. The door could have been unlocked. Ian couldn't get to it."

"Right," Provenza said. "I'm not saying leaving it unlocked was wrong." He scowled. Sanchez would come to her defense, he knew. The younger detective had developed a protective streak where the Captain was concerned early on. Like Flynn, he was enamored with her, and now he looked up to her. "I just want to know how he got in, to figure out what his motivation might be… and to throw another charge at the son of a bitch for breaking and entering on top of kidnapping and child endangerment."

"Yes sir," Julio relaxed somewhat. "I want to find the bastard," he said.

"We all do." Provenza looked around. "What about the upstairs, has that been checked?"

"We wanted to make sure that we had everything down here first," Sanchez said. "Buzz just went up ahead of FID to tape it all.

"Okay," Provenza nodded. "Let's leave Buzz and Tao here to coordinate with FID. I want the rest of us in the field. Ian Flynn has been missing for an hour now… we're losing daylight." He left the house, Sanchez with him. Outside, they joined Sykes. "I want every traffic camera between here and all the main thoroughfares pulled and the footage reviewed. Get me eyes on what Dunn was driving," he instructed Sykes. "Someone track down his fiancée, Annie, find out where he's been staying. The FBI is here, let's use them, Sykes. This is no time for a pissing contest. Sanchez is with me, we're going to the hospital. We need to question the Ca—" Provenza stopped himself, he looked at the members of the team. "We need to question the mother again," he corrected. "Let's move people."

The team scattered to their own assignments. Provenza and Sanchez climbed into his car, Sanchez driving. They pointed it toward Cedars, and with lights and sirens, they headed off to question their witness.

Provenza called his partner before they reached the hospital. "We're still in the ER," he reported. "They did an MRI, we're just waiting for results. She's awake, but it's all pretty foggy for her. She's definitely concussed, we're just trying to make out how bad."

"Good," Provenza said. "That she's awake. We're on our way. We need to talk to her."

"I figured as much," he said. "We'll be here."

"How's Rusty?" Provenza shared a look with Sanchez.

"Blaming himself," Andy sighed. "He figures none of this would be happening if it weren't for him ruining Dunn's life. He only got to see Sharon for a minute, she'll knock his head back on straight. I tried but, I'm not sure he really believes me."

"Yeah, she's good at that," Provenza had to admit. "Listen, we're only a few minutes away. We'll talk to you then. Might be a good idea to occupy the kid somehow. I don't want him there when we question her… you know?"

"Yeah," Andy breathed. "I know." They weren't coming to interview their Captain. They were coming to interview a witness… possibly a suspect, if for no other reason, than to rule out the latter. Andy hung up the phone and focused on his wife. She was seated on the gurney, knees bent. Her arms were wrapped around them and her head was laying against them. They had placed a small bandage against the cut and cleaned it. Blood had dried in her hair, and the bandage stood out, stark white against the dark brown and red tones of her hair. At least they were able to secure it without wrapping her entire head, Andy thought.

Andy sat on the gurney in front of her. He took her hands to get her attention. "I spoke to our guys. They're almost here."

"I heard." She looked up at him, eyes still glassy and a bit unfocused. She drew her bottom lip between her teeth and sighed quietly. They had her in a cubicle, rather than one of the curtained off bays. Rank had its privileges, she thought bitterly. Her head was throbbing, and if she moved, the room threatened to tilt alarmingly around her. When Andy's hands moved to her legs, gently stroking the backs of her calves, she forced herself to focus on him. He was worried about her, she knew. She wouldn't let them put her in a gown, she had no intention of staying, and while Sharon didn't _want_ to be difficult, the sooner they were out of there, the better. She kept running over the encounter in her head, over and over again, and all she could think about were Ian's high-pitched, frightened cries as he was carried away. "_Andy_."

"I know." He felt the shudder that ran through her. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against her temple, on the uninjured side. Her hands gripped his upper arms tightly, almost painfully. They hadn't actually talked about it yet, he was more worried that she was _okay_, but at the same time, this was one story he only wanted to make her tell the once. Yeah, his objectivity was shot to hell alright, he should have been taking notes, breaking her story down, tearing it apart, and relaying it to their guys… putting them on the trail that much faster. He couldn't. He couldn't look into her frightened eyes and put her through that hell. He was going to let Provenza do it. He bent, placed a kiss against one of her bent knees and felt her hand go into his hair. He shuddered.

"I'm sorry," She whispered. She felt the tension coiling in him, saw the fear in his dark eyes. It was all brimming, just beneath the surface. Sharon didn't know if she had it in her, this time, to hold him back.

Andy's head lifted. He stared, incredulously at her. "Sharon." His hands cupped her face. "No," he said thickly, pointedly. Her eyes dropped and his thumbs swept her cheeks. "Look at me," he demanded roughly. "No. He could have killed you. This is not on you."

Her small, shaking hands circled his wrists. "Isn't it?" Her eyes brimmed with moisture. She took a thin, shuddering breath. "Andy, I couldn't—"

"_No_." He wouldn't allow her to blame herself for this. Whatever happened in that kitchen, this wouldn't be the result. "I know you," he rumbled quietly. "I know the hell you would walk through for any of those kids. Okay?" He continued to stare at her until she finally nodded, and he relaxed somewhat. Dunn needed to pray he didn't get his hands on him, Flynn thought. A knock at the door drew their attention and he sat back slightly. "Yeah, come in."

Andy's hands dropped to her legs again, a simple, comforting caress on the outsides of her calves. Sharon sat up a bit straighter at the sight of her officers, Provenza and Sanchez. She clenched her jaw against the pounding in her head and the nausea that wanted to make itself central to the moment. "Lieutenant… Detective." They both looked grim, drawn. Like Andy, she could see the coiled tension in Julio. The concern in the older Lieutenant had moisture threatening to pool in her eyes again.

They moved into the room and closed the door behind them. "Captain," Provenza stopped at the foot of the bed, while Julio moved to the other side, standing opposite of where Flynn sat with her. "We have some questions that we need to go over," he said gently, reminding her of their job, even if she knew the procedure quite well.

"Yes," She sighed quietly. "Of course. I have to warn you, it's still a bit…" She waved a hand at her head. "We might need to go over this again in a few hours."

"Yes ma'am," Julio said quietly. "We understand." He had his head bent, and was looking studiously at his notepad. He didn't like to see her this way. It… bothered him. "Ma'am, could you go through your day for me?"

He wouldn't look at her. Sharon didn't think she could take it. As if he were afraid to let her see exactly what he was thinking. What they all were thinking. "Detective," her tone dipped. She reached out, lightly brushed the cuff of his sleeve. "I think you can do better than that?"

Sanchez looked up. When he finally gazed at her, his jaw was clenched. Muscles of his arms and back bunched, coiled. She was hurt, and she was pale. She looked small, vulnerable, but the tone reminded him what they were here to do. It settled him somewhat. He nodded once. "What did you do today, Captain," he asked more pointedly.

She drew a breath and thought back, which was difficult. "I arranged to work from home today. I had a few errands to run in the morning," she spoke quietly. There was only a barely detectable tremor in her tone. "After Andy left this morning, I got Ian and I ready to go out." Her eyes closed, just for a moment. "We drove over to the mall, he's gotten so tall, he needed things for—" She broke off and shook her head. That was a mistake. It ached sharply and she drew another breath. She felt Andy's hands slide to her knees and she exhaled quietly. She cleared her throat. "He needed some summer things. We browsed for a while, did a little shopping. We had lunch in the food court, it's not my preference, but Rusty got him hooked."

"Did you see anything unusual," Provenza asked, interrupting her. "Any evidence that you were being followed, or—"

"No," she said quietly. "Then, I wasn't really thinking about it. I was more focused on Ian."

Andy stroked her leg again. "What happened after the mall?"

Her lips pursed for a moment. "I stopped by the market. We were out of practically everything. No, I didn't see anything there either," she answered before they could ask.

There was another knock at the door. Provenza walked over and opened it. He glanced at the others before allowing it to swing wider. He stepped out of the way, and Agent Howard entered the room. "Took the FBI long enough," he groused.

Fritz moved into the room. He glanced around quickly before his gaze fell on the Captain and Flynn. "I drove out to the scene first," he said. "I've got my people coordinating with your people. I didn't realize until I got there that it was—" He trailed off and shrugged. "Anyway, don't let me interrupt."

Andy felt her go stiff and let his hands stroke her legs again. "After the market," he said. "What happened?"

Sharon glanced at the others and let her attention go back to Sanchez. "I drove home. I unloaded the car. Ian sat in his high chair and had some juice while I put everything away. He was cranky and tired, it was well past his nap time. I put Ian down for his nap, and while he slept, I worked. Detective Sanchez had quite a bit of overtime that I had to get approved," she said with a slight smile, one which didn't actually reach her eyes. She watched him making notes and waited until he stopped. "After the nap, I put Ian's favorite show on, and let him play while I started dinner."

Julio stopped her there, by holding up his pen. For a moment he hesitated. He exchanged a look with Lieutenant Provenza. "Ma'am, do you recall if you locked the front door when you got home?"

Sharon gave him a puzzled look. Her head inclined. "I'm not sure, why?"

"In Flynn's statement," Provenza said, "he indicated that the door was locked when he got home. He had to unlock it. We're trying to establish how Dunn got into the house."

"I don't…" She looked away, trying to recall. Those moments just before the attack were still so clouded. She remembered getting the last of the groceries out of the car and carrying them inside. "I don't know…"

"Think about it, Sharon," Andy pressed quietly. "Did you flip the deadbolt? The gate was up…"

"That much I remember, but honestly, I'm not sure." Sharon shrugged. "It's habit, yes. We got so used to keeping the doors locked when Rusty was getting the letters from Weller, but I really don't remember if I locked the door this afternoon or not. I may have. I don't really know," she said apologetically. "I just don't remember."

"The other doors were locked," Julio stated calmly. "When the Lieutenant arrived, he had to let himself in with his key. The gates were secured, except for the kitchen. The back door was locked. There's no sign of forced entry. Is it possible Dunn could have gotten a key… maybe you keep one hidden outside for Rusty?"

"No of course not," Sharon stated. "That's ridiculous. We caution people against that all the time. I've never had a hide-a-key. Rusty has a key, and if he loses it, he knows that I keep a spare in my office. The same with the two of us," she indicated herself and Andy.

"Then how did he get in," Andy asked, growing frustrated. "If you locked the door—"

"I don't know," she replied. "I didn't even hear him. The door may not have been locked. Ian was playing, the television was on, I just don't know." Sharon sighed. "I didn't know he was in the house until he spoke."

"Is it possible the door was locked, and Rusty lost his key?" Provenza asked. "If Dunn's been following you for a while, he could have lifted the key…"

"No," Sharon said. "Rusty knows better. If he'd lost his key, he'd have said something. We've stressed the issue of security since the Weller incident. We don't arm the alarm during the day, but Rusty was always good about all of that when he was living with us. He still is."

"Then we go on the assumption the door wasn't locked," Fritz stated quietly. "It honestly isn't an issue. Either way…"

Andy ran a hand through his hair. "It's a big damned detail to forget, Sharon. Did you leave the door unlocked or not?" Dunn could always argue that he found Ian wandering around in the street. It was a weak defense, but any way of casting doubt with a jury was a problem for them. Especially with their history with the guy was considered. He didn't like this, she was too unsure, too unsettled. It wasn't like her at all. He could blame it on the concussion, and that probably had a lot to do with it. It worried him, seeing her like this.

She knew why it was important that they know, but his tone surprised her. She gave him a wide-eyed look. She opened her mouth to reply, but wasn't given the opportunity.

"Flynn!" Provenza snapped at him, eyes flashing. "Go, take a walk," he ordered, pointing at the door. "Check on Rusty."

His dark eyes flashed. Andy sat back, cheeks flushing. "I'm not going to leav—"

"Lieutenant." Sanchez stared at him. "You can leave, or I can escort you," he said calmly.

"Andy." Sharon's hand slid down his arm. She drew her bottom lip between her teeth. It wasn't her, she knew, that was provoking his temper. He was already on the cusp of losing the hold he had on it. She knew that he was frustrated and frightened, so was she. "I need someone to check on Rusty," she asked quietly. "When we're done here, I'd like to see him."

His jaw clenched. He stared back at her. They were both silent for several long moments. Finally, Andy sighed. "Yeah, fine." He stood up, but not without pressing a kiss to her mouth. To the others, he glared. "Don't over do it."

They waited for him to leave the room. The three officers exchanged a look, Agent Howard shook his head quietly. He moved closer to the gurney and pushed his hands into his pockets. "Captain, can you take us through what happened while you were in the kitchen."

Sharon folded her arms around her legs again. She drew a breath and let it out slowly. "I was starting dinner. Ian was playing. We leave the kitchen gate open when we're cooking so that he can move between the rooms. He likes the sound his toys make when he drops them on the tiled floor," she said, smiling slightly. Moisture pooled in her eyes again and she looked away. She took a moment, but when she spoke again, her voice was thick, and the tremor was back. "He'd gotten too quiet again, and I was just about to check on him. I heard his blocks hit the floor, and I was teasing him. Seek and Destroy, he can make quite a mess in a short amount of time." Sharon shrugged, "But then, most children can."

She stopped. Her attention drifted. Provenza sighed. He watched what little color she had fade completely. He knew where she'd gone. Tapped his notepad against the foot of her bed. Terror, abject terror, the kind he'd seen before. Cases like these didn't always have good results, the problem was, they knew that only too well. All of them did. How many of these had they worked? How often had they ever recovered the child? It wasn't good odds. "You didn't hear Dunn arrive," he questioned quietly, gently for him.

"No," Sharon glanced at him. "I was speaking to Ian, but it was Daniel that answered. I never heard him enter the house…" She trailed off again and shuddered. "I must have left the door unlocked."

Blame, for herself. Julio ground his teeth together while he made notes. "That doesn't really matter, ma'am. We need to know how he got in, but…" He drew her gaze and tried to smile, it felt more like a grimace. "I never lock my door, except at night. Who does? You had the gate up."

"Somehow, that doesn't make me feel much better," she whispered. Sharon shook her head. "Let's just get through this okay?" She drew a breath. "Daniel and I had words. He blames me for ruining his life. He's lost everything, I gather. His fiancée, and her children. He followed me home from the office, that's how he knew where we lived. He saw me with Ian and that… angered him. He wanted to know whose child I _stole_ this time, he said some things which I'd rather not repeat, I don't want Rusty to hear them. He intimated that I was replacing Rusty, with a much younger child, someone who would be easier to influence. He said that I'd taken everything that mattered to him, and now he was taking what mattered to me. So that I would know what it felt like. He was… unkempt. His hair was longer. You'll want to factor that into your description. He…" Sharon closed her eyes tightly. "Ian was frightened, I tried to get him to let me have the baby so that we could talk, but… he wasn't hearing me. He was armed." Her eyes widened. Sharon had forgotten that. "He _is_ armed. He's got a gun. It's what he hit me with. _Damnit_." How could she forget something so important?

They all moved at once. Fritz had his phone out first. "I've got it." He was calling in the alert. The agent stepped into the hall to make the call.

"Okay, alright." Provenza held up his hands. The Captain looked ready to get out of bed. "You've got a concussion," he reminded her. "He hit you pretty hard. We know now, _that_ is what is important."

Sharon placed a shaking hand to her forehead. "Yes." She chewed on the corner of her bottom lip. "That's it, that's all I remember. He had a gun, and mine was locked up. We have a child in the house, we don't—"

"Captain," Provenza said gently. "You do what we all do. You were off duty, you secured your weapon. It is what we are taught to do, especially if there are children in the home. You were following procedure—"

"Yes," she snapped. "Hell of a lot of good those rules have done me this time, isn't it?" Her eyes flashed. "Isn't that what we should all be thinking?"

"No." Julio spoke quietly. "We should be thinking that it doesn't matter. An armed man took your child and you were injured trying to stop him."

"Right." She looked away from them. "Is there anything else that you need to know, gentlemen?"

They exchanged a look. "We have enough for now," Provenza decided. "We're going to update everyone. We have wants out on Dunn. We'll update the Amber Alert, and we're searching for the fiancée. We'll keep you updated." He nodded Sanchez toward the door. "Would you like me to send Flynn back in?"

"Yes," she said. "I need to see Rusty." Sharon waited until they left before she lowered her face into her hands. A tremor went through her. She exhaled sharply. "Oh god…"

The door opened again a few minutes later to admit Andy and Rusty. Just when he thought he'd gotten a hold on his frustration, they told him the son of a bitch was armed. He'd held a gun on her, and now he had their kid. Andy was fighting it back, but it was difficult as hell. He wanted to be out there, to personally put his fist in that bastard's face. Instead, he clamped down on the rage that was filling him and maneuvered Rusty into the room. "Hey," he spoke quietly, to draw her attention.

Sharon looked up immediately and her gaze went to Rusty first. "Come here." She held out her arms. Affectionate exchanges were still rare for them, and usually reserved for moments such as these.

Rusty hesitated, but only for a moment. He stepped forward, legs feeling heavy, and moved to her side. "Sharon, I am so sor—"

"No, honey," she whispered. "You didn't do anything. This has _nothing_ to do with you. Daniel is an angry man who is incapable of taking responsibility for his own failings. We know that about him. This is not your fault. Rusty, I will never regret getting that man out of your life, understand?"

"Yes," he nodded slowly, but clung a little more tightly to her for a moment. When he did move back, his eyes were suspiciously bright. "What happens now," he asked, looking between the two of them. "What do we do?"

Andy shoved his hands into his pockets to keep from clenching them into fists. "We wait," he said brusquely. "There isn't a lot that _we_ can do. They're scouring the city for him. It's hit the news—"

"Oh god, Andy…" Sharon looked up at him. "The kids?"

"I called them." He moved to the bed again and sat beside her. "I called Nicole when I got here, before they ever let me back here with you. I told her to stay home with the boys, they don't need to be around this. Then I called Charlotte and Rick." He reached out and lay a hand on her knee. "I told Charlotte to stay put in New York. With any luck, we'd have him back by the time she landed," he said, a bit haltingly. "Rick is probably already in the air. He was threatening to drive down if he couldn't get a flight out within the hour. He's…" Andy shrugged at her, smiled a bit. "His mother's son."

"You realize Charlotte is probably already in the air too?" Sharon reached out and lay a hand on his arm. She adored her children, but they were both stubborn, and to be honest, she wouldn't mind having them close. They needed to be close. She needed them all, at the moment, especially Ian." She leaned toward him. "I'd really like to get out of here," she murmured.

"Your tests aren't back yet," He reminded her. "We need to make sure you're okay first. You were unconscious for a while…"

"Not that long," she told him. "Andy, I'm fine."

"Sharon…" He sighed. There was no use arguing with her, he knew. He'd feel the same way. "Okay. If the MRI comes back clean, I'll get you out of here, alright?"

She nodded. "Thank you." She lay her forehead against his shoulder. Waiting was always the hardest part.


	7. Chapter 7

Everything We Are - Chapter 7

by Kadi

Rated: M

Disclaimer: It's not my sandbox, I'm only visiting for a time.

* * *

There were people in their house. It was full of officers, members of their own team, uniforms, and FBI. A mobile command center was setup outside. The MRI had been clean, with just a concussion, Sharon insisted that she be released from the hospital. The head laceration didn't require stitches, and so after pressuring the ER physicians into agreeing, she was released.

It had been hours. They knew only too well that the longer it took to find Ian, the least likely they were to do so. Their people were working out of the dining room. Buzz had several computers set up already. Footage had been downloaded and transferred to them via Traffic division and he was pouring over it, frame by frame, looking for any sign of Dunn.

Having strangers in their home was difficult. They were both private people, and there were those, people outside of Major Crimes, that would get a thrill out of the idea of seeing how the notorious Captain Raydor lived.

She was staying away from them as much as she could. Sharon had retreated to the back deck. The night was cool, with just a light breeze. The news helicopters had retreated, chased way by LAPD birds. With the setting of the sun, however, they wouldn't have had much luck getting a look at the house. Taylor was at least running interference with the press, keeping them away as much as possible, but it was difficult. With an LAPD Captain's child missing, kidnapped out of her own home, it became something of a story. Particularly when that Captain was in charge of LA's elite crime unit.

Rusty was staying close to her. The team wasn't allowing her to so much as glance at a piece of evidence, and that was frustrating as hell. Andy knew, because he was having the same issue. It hadn't stopped him, though. He knew that he was irritating the hell out of Buzz, if the biting sarcasm was any indication. When he got chased out of the dining room, yet again, Andy let himself out onto the deck.

He walked over to the glider that Sharon was seated on. Her legs were curled beneath her, and there was a cup of tea in her hands. The moment he was seated beside her, he held out his arm. Their eyes met and she leaned toward him. Andy curled his arm around her and drew her close. He kissed the top of her head. "There's no where in this city that he can go, that we aren't looking for him."

"I know," she murmured. "That's what frightens me." If he felt cornered, she feared he would ditch their son, and in what condition would he be? What would happen to him then?

"We'll find him first," Andy said, but he wasn't entirely sure that he believed it either. Experience was working against them in this instance. He felt her tremble and he took the tea out of her hand. "Hey kid, do me a favor?" He held it out for him. "This has gone cold. Maybe get her a fresh cup?"

Rusty looked between them. By now he could tell, quite easily, he was being gotten rid of. "Sure." He stood and reached for the cup. "The peppermint right," he asked.

"Yes," Sharon smiled gently. "Thank you honey." She waited for him to slip into the house and turned her face into Andy's shoulder. "I don't know if I can do this."

"You can," he told her. "We have to, there's not a lot of choice in it." His hand moved slowly up and down her back. "We are going to find him," He wouldn't accept any less.

Sharon hummed. "If we don't?" She lifted her head, eyes pale with fear. "Is this the universe's way of righting itself? We were never supposed to have him, Andy. Is this the price that we pay for just how well everything went? My pregnancy was surprisingly easy, despite the complications at the end. Ian is healthy and normal, and that just doesn't happen at our age. None of this was ever supposed to happen. We knew how unbelievably ridiculous it was from the start. So is this all we get? Is this it?" She was terrified, and they'd gone well beyond unsettled. Her doubts were getting the better of her. She tried to ignore them, to outthink them, to put her logical thought processes back in order. It wasn't working. The harder she grasped at the cool, icy shield of indifference she had once cloaked herself in during her FID days, the farther away it seemed to slip. Her mind wouldn't stop rotating through every worst case scenario. It was replaying case after case that they'd dealt with involving missing children, some she'd heard about and others she became part of after joining Major Crimes. Trying to hold on to the _Captain_ wasn't helping her in the least. It was only making it worse. She felt as though she were flailing, lost in a sea of doubt and fear, and in the end all she could think of was just how unlikely, how ridiculous all of this was. Her children were grown. This wasn't supposed to be happening... for so many reasons.

He couldn't take it. There was something inside of her that was already breaking. Andy drew her into his lap and curled his arms around her. "Listen to me," he said. "This isn't it. I'm not giving up, and neither are you. There is no power that either of us believe in that would give us this chance and then strip it away to rebalance the world." He cupped the side of her face, drew her gaze to his. "I love you," he said thickly. "It wasn't supposed to happen, you're right about that. From the very beginning all of this was unlikely as hell. You and me? Who would have predicted that? Yeah, you got pregnant Sharon, and that was just… Wildly unbelievable. It shouldn't've happened. God knows. But it did. This isn't how it ends." He shook his head. "We decided to do this… and hell, I know that people wonder what we were thinking. Sometime we both wonder the same damned thing. Maybe we just like long odds, or… we're old fashioned and set in our ways, hell, don't ask me. It worked. Beyond all reason, beyond sanity and any number of other things, it worked out. It's still working."

"Is it?" Sharon looked away from him. This fear was twisting her inside out. It was a visceral pain. It ran deep. It hurt to move, to breathe. "I wonder about that. If we're really doing him any favors. We're the wrong side of fifty, look at what we've been through recently." She stood, moving out of his lap and away from him. Sharon crossed the deck and stood against the railing. It overlooked the back yard. The lights in the pool were on, glowing warmly, casting the yard in shadows. "I've gotten complacent," she said quietly. "I relaxed my guard. I do things now in a way that I never would have dreamed thirty years ago. I approach this with the idea that I've done it all before. I can't remember if I locked the door, and it doesn't really matter, but I was only keeping half an eye on him. Children need to explore. We baby proofed the house and we tell ourselves that he needs to make a mess, and get into trouble, and make mistakes. It's how they learn, but thirty years ago I'd not have taken my eyes off of him." Her hands gripped the wooden rail tightly. She turned her face toward the night, let the cool breeze wash over her. She still felt stifled, as though she couldn't breathe. She drew a thin shallow breath. The pressure in her chest was almost too much. There was a churning in her stomach. "I almost lost Rusty because I was holding on too tightly," she said quietly, so much so that it was almost lost on the breeze. "I was so convinced that he had to be with me to be safe, that I stopped listening to my instincts. Maybe Daniel was right…" She said thickly. "The common denominator in all of this is me. Maybe I am just a dried up, manipulative old woman. Maybe it would be better for Ian if he went to Nicole and Jake," she whispered.

Andy gripped her arms so tightly when he turned her that he worried he might bruise her. He shook her lightly, until she looked up at him. What he saw in her eyes almost had him staggering backward. There was pain and fear, but there was part of her that was already grieving. Either because she believed they'd already lost him, or she was preparing herself for that. "Don't you give up," he growled. He gripped her upper arms tighter. "You've never given up on a damned thing in your life, Sharon, don't give up on our son. You've been fighting for him, and praying for him, and hoping for him since the day you found out you were pregnant. Don't stop now when he needs it. You didn't let Dunn win before, don't let him win this time either." Andy bent low, until his lips were brushing her ear. "This isn't you. Do not let them see you cowed."

She closed her eyes and nodded, even as he drew her closer, into the warm circle of his arms. Her fingers curled into his shirt and she fought to get closer, although it was physically impossible. She clung to him instead. "I can't breathe," she whispered. "They're all staring at me and I have nothing to give them. Everything I have is with him right now, and I just can't…" She shuddered violently in his arms. "I haven't given up, I just want him back, and I can't think of anything but what our own experience has taught us. I feel like I've just been so selfish. Who even am I anymore?" It wasn't only the situation, but herself that she was doubting. "What am I doing, Andy?"

Andy leaned back, he tipped her chin up. There was moisture in her eyes, but she wouldn't allow the tears to fall. Not while there were strangers in her house. He felt her tremble again and his arm curled more tightly around her. "You're the wicked witch of Major Crimes and you're going to keep your head held high. You're my wife, and you're Ian's mother." Andy dropped his forehead against hers. "You're going to get him back, and you're going to keep him. The hell with anyone who doesn't like it." He cupped the back of her head and kissed her, hard. "I know what you need." Andy took her hand and drew her with him into the house.

"Andy!" Her alarmed voice sounded behind him, but she let him pull her into the house.

He pulled her into the house behind him, they met Rusty coming to the door from the kitchen. Andy shook his head at the boy and walked through the living room. He stopped beside Sanchez and bent, whispering quietly and quickly in his ear.

Julio grinned. "Yes sir." Then he walked toward the front of the house and began herding people toward the door. "Out."

Andy looked at the others. "Listen up," he called. "We appreciate the help, but if you are not a member of Major Crimes, please leave."

"You heard him." Julio glared at a group of officers who had only gone back to what they were doing. "Everyone out."

"Come on," Andy tugged Sharon with him toward the stairs. He'd done his part, he'd leave Julio to clear the house out. She would breathe a lot easier once the strangers were confined to the yard and the command center. He pulled Sharon in front of him and maneuvered her up the stairs ahead of him, to the second floor of their home. They walked down the hall, and then he pushed her into Ian's room. It hadn't, thankfully, been touched. Tao and Buzz had checked it, along with their room, for evidence. Their LAPD counterparts had at least had the wherewithal to contain themselves to the first floor. Inside the room, Andy took the floppy, stuffed monkey off the bed and placed it in her hands. It had the effect that he expected it would. He folded her against him when she began to tremble and held on tightly. She wouldn't cry, he knew. That would come later, but she need some sort of release, something to cleanse her and bring back the woman they knew her to be. The strong, tough as nails Captain, and the terrifyingly brave mother that would take on the world if need be. "He wanted to break you," Andy said quietly. "Don't let him. Your one weakness might be your children, but there isn't a damned thing wrong with that."

"I wouldn't say it's the only one." She tipped her head back and looked up at him. She lifted a shaking hand to his face. Her fingers were light against his jaw. "I seem to have a pretty big weak spot when it comes to a certain Lieutenant I know."

"You don't say?" He slipped his hands beneath the curtain of her hair and held her head. Her eyes were clearing. The glassy-eyed grief, the near panic, it was beginning to fade. That didn't mean she wouldn't experience it again, it didn't mean that it was gone. She was getting a better handle on it, and that was all that he could really offer her at the moment. It was all that he could offer himself. He hoped to hell that he wasn't wrong. He couldn't stand the idea of propping her up just so that both of them could fall together. Andy needed to believe that they'd find him, that Ian would be home with them soon. He had to be right, otherwise, he didn't know how either of them would survive it.

"Mmhm." She curled a hand around his forearm, the other continued to hold the stuffed toy against her chest. She drew her bottom lip between her teeth and exhaled slowly. "Yes. That Provenza… don't know what I would do without him."

Andy stared at her for several long moments, then he snorted. "There you are." He pulled her against him again, somewhat relieved. "I was really starting to worry, babe." He pressed a kiss to the uninjured side of her head and when her arm curled around his waist, he let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Don't give up on us," he whispered. "We ain't done yet."

"No," she whispered. "No we're not." Sharon turned her face into his neck and inhaled deeply. "I love you. Whatever else happens…"

"I know." He drew back, cupped her face in his large palms again. "I know," he said more pointedly. His lips were gentle against hers, despite the need, the desperation to hold her tightly and never let go.

"Mom."

Sharon turned. "Ricky." She moved away from her husband and into her son's embrace. "Hey baby." She held him tightly. "I'm so glad that you're here," she murmured.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. Richard didn't really know what to say. Rusty had told him where to find her. When he asked how she was, the kid just shrugged. He didn't know, Andy was handling it. The worry that was flowing off him in tangible waves had damned near floored the elder son when he realized they were directed toward his mother, and not the younger half-brother.

"Let's go downstairs," she said. Sharon curled an arm through his. "Have you heard from your sister?"

"There was a message on my phone when I landed at LAX," he replied. "She called from her layover in Denver. She'll be here in a couple of hours."

"I told you." Sharon shot a look at Andy.

"Yeah, I know," He sighed and shook his head. "Your kids are just like you, they drive me crazy when they don't listen to what I tell 'em to do."

Ricky snorted quietly. "Yeah, we like you too, Andy."

"Well," he said. "At least he's not calling me Lieutenant anymore…"

Sharon curled an arm around her son and leaned in to his side as they moved downstairs. She still held the stuffed toy in her other arm. She probably wouldn't be putting it down anytime soon, she knew. There was a part of her that still worried if she would hold her youngest in her arms again. They ached, just to hold him. Her fear wasn't gone, not in the least, and neither was the doubt. Maybe she could breathe again, at least for the moment. "Small steps, Andy. I told you that, one day soon my children will forgive you for providing the evidence that yes, their mother does have sex."

Ricky groaned. "You know, its times like these that I really feel sorry for Rusty. Really."

She looked back at him, and Andy saw that she hadn't fully recovered yet. She was putting on a good show, however. She was gathering the ends around herself and compartmentalizing in that way that only she could. It was enough for now he supposed. Rusty was waiting for them in the living room, he looked up, wide-eyed and expectant when they came down the stairs. Andy met his gaze and shrugged slightly. Then he nodded. He watched the kid relax, marginally. "Hey kid, let's see what we can find in the kitchen to eat. I'm starving." He wasn't. Andy wasn't even remotely hungry, and he doubted that Sharon was either, but it would give them something to do while they waited.

"Yeah okay," Rusty went with him into the kitchen. They left Sharon with Ricky. "Is she…"

"No." Andy opened the fridge with a sigh. "She's holding it together. It's all we can ask for."

"I guess." Rusty chewed his bottom lip. "Andy… are they going to find him?"

He looked over at the boy and felt like ten times a heel. "Yeah," he said. "They're going to find him." He'd been so focused on Sharon that he hadn't really thought about what the kid was going through. Not for a while at least. He reached over and cupped the back of Rusty's neck. The kid wasn't one for physical displays, but the touch seemed to help when he was like this. "It'll be okay, Rusty."

"What if it's not," he asked worriedly. "What if—"

"Rusty." Andy shook his head. "We can't think about that. Don't plan for the worst. You know better. She taught you better." He thought about it for a moment and let his hand fall to grip the kid's shoulder. "Don't let her see you worried, okay? You come to me, you go to Buzz. Or Julio, hell, even Provenza. I'll do the same, deal?"

Rusty stared back at him, then glanced into the living room. Sharon was seated on the sofa with Ricky. The pair of them were talking quietly. From the horrified look on his face, she was telling him what had happened, filling in the gaps. Rusty nodded slowly and looked back at the Lieutenant. "Yeah," he said. "Deal."

"Good." Andy nodded toward the fridge. "Now, explain for me, how Sharon can go to the market and buy a couple hundred dollars worth of groceries, and still there's not a damned thing to eat?"

He pressed his lips together and shrugged. "Because she doesn't buy junk?"

"That would be it." He heaved a sigh. He dug into his pocket for his wallet. Andy pulled out several bills and thrust them at him. "Go order Pizza, enough for the whole team."

"Ok." He took the money, but hesitated for a moment. "Um… yeah, okay." Rusty turned away, deciding it was best not to voice what he was about to say. Maybe he shouldn't tell them that it was okay with him if they did whatever they had to do with Daniel Dunn to get his brother back. He didn't imagine Sharon would be too happy hearing that… and he supposed Andy probably wouldn't either. Even if he was sure that he was thinking it. He'd tell Sanchez… he would understand. He'd get it, and it would be their little secret. "Veggie lovers for you and Sharon, and I'll go see what the others want." Rusty heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes. "Meat lovers for Lieutenant Provenza and Amy, something with mushrooms for Lieutenant Tao, Cheese for Buzz, and Detective Sanchez will eat anything…" As he turned away, he shook his head. "Why am I asking? I'm like, their new favorite errand boy."

"Yes." Buzz walked through the kitchen to the water cooler in the corner to refill his bottle with water. "I can't begin to tell you just how wonderful that is."

Andy snorted quietly. "Anything?"

He sighed. "Not yet, Lieutenant. We're still looking. There's a whole lot of city out there."

He ground his teeth together. "Buzz, look, I get that we can't look at evidence. But it's just traffic footage. There shouldn't be any reason why Sharon and I couldn't help you wade through that. It might go a long way toward helping if we could feel like we were doing something."

Buzz seemed to waver for a moment, finally he relented. "Okay, but, only the traffic footage."

"Agreed!" Andy walked toward the dining room where the tech was set up. "We won't touch another damned thing."

"Sure you won't," Buzz rolled his eyes as he followed. "Why do I feel like those were famous last words…"

"Relax, Buzz," Andy told him. "We're only going to help a little."

"Sure you are…" He muttered. "That's what you always say."

"She needs to do something," Andy said more quietly. "She's going crazy, Buzz."

"I know," he said quietly. "Okay look…" Buzz began uploading several of the data files to the Captain's computer. "Just… if you find anything, tell me on which frame, and I'll pull it up on mine. No one really needs to know."

"You're a good man, Buzz." Andy took the computer after he was finished and carried it into the living room. It was no longer evidence, since Tao had already pulled everything off of it. "Sharon," he held it for her. "Buzz needs a hand looking through the traffic footage, you want to take these, and I'll take the others…"

She gazed up at him for a moment before silently nodded. "Of course." She accepted the computer and opened it. That man, she thought. He was giving her something else to focus on. He knew, he always knew. "Thank you."

Andy exchanged a look with Ricky before he nodded. "Don't thank me yet, there are a hell of a lot of files." He drew away a moment later to retrieve his own computer. At least now they were doing more than just waiting.


	8. Chapter 8

Everything We Are - Chapter 8

by Kadi

Rated: M

Disclaimer: It's not my sandbox, I'm only visiting for a time.

* * *

Near midnight, Andy convinced Sharon to lay down. Charlotte arrived a short while before, he'd sent Rusty and Ricky to get her. After another tearful reunion and more explanations, he finally talked his wife into laying down on the sofa with her head in his lap. He stroked her hair, careful of the bandaged wound just above her ear. He tipped his head back, feet up on the coffee table and stared at the ceiling. His eyes were heavy, but he couldn't seem to let them close. Sharon wasn't sleeping either, but she was resting at least. They hadn't found anything in the traffic footage, but it had given them some sense of purpose. Now, he sat gently winding soft strands of dark hair around his fingers.

They hadn't had any leads. The team was chasing down every tip, working every angle. After finding Annie, the former fiancee, they had all left. Buzz had gone along as well, he would need to work the equipment while she was interviewed. There were still uniformed officers outside, keeping the press back and manning the command center. They'd be back, after the interview, unless she gave them anything useful to go on. They weren't convinced she would, apparently she hadn't spoken to or seen Dunn since breaking up with him a few months after he signed away his paternal rights.

The house was too silent. Even with the kids in the kitchen, talking quietly among themselves, it was just too quiet. Odd, there were times when they longed for peace and silence, and now… he just wished Ian would run screaming through the room, banging his toys together. He sighed quietly and stroked his thumb along his wife's neck. It had been eight hours… time was ticking away from them. Andy tried not to think about it, but his mind kept returning to what he _knew_ to be true. The longer it took… the less likely they would be to find Ian, or to find him alive.

When the phone on the cushion beside him began to vibrate, Andy looked down at it. Sharon lifted her head and they both watched the display. Provenza. She looked up at him and he knew that his apprehension was reflected in her gaze. Andy touched her face, fingers brushing her cheek gently. He drew his index finger down the bridge of her nose before he reached for it. He lifted it to his ear without looking away from her. "Flynn."

**MC MC MC MC MC MC**

The emergency room at St. Catherine's Medical Center wasn't usually bustling with activity. They got their fair share of traumas, illnesses, and broken bones. Usually people went to Cedars, so while they were steady, they were never overly busy. At the nurse's station, Sarah Paige fought a yawn as she filled out her shift change paperwork. It had been a long day and she was looking forward to getting home. There was a long, hot bath and a glass of wine in her future. Around her, the other nurses and swing shift personnel were doing the same. The noon to midnight shift wasn't fun, but it was always interesting.

"Hey Sarah." Nancy Donovan would be her nightshift replacement. She pulled a chart from the stack and began flipping through it to familiarize herself with the day's patients. "Anything interesting today?" She didn't mind the midnight to noon shift, it gave her an opportunity to have her afternoons free while she slept in the evenings.

"Not really. Mrs. Peters is back, she fell again. Adult protective services is getting involved this time. That's three falls this month, I think they're going to insist that she be placed in an assisted living facility." Sarah looked up from her paperwork and considered those patients which were still there. "We had a frequent flyer this afternoon, Mister Joey, he was found sleeping on the beach again. We're treating a pretty bad sunburn and sobering him up."

"Great," Nancy wrinkled her nose. He was a butt pincher. "Well, I'm glad I can share in your fun."

"The glamorous lives we lead." She chuckled. "You've got a kid in sixteen. We're waiting for social services to find a placement for him. They found him wandering around down in Venice Beach, no sign of the parents. He's maybe, two years old, could be younger. I despise people like that," she sneered. "If they do find the parents, I hope they lock them away in a dark, dirty place forever." She pressed down hard as she wrote, almost tearing the paper. "What kind of people do that? Leave a child all alone, tired, hungry, and in serious need of a new pull-up."

"That's terrible!" Nancy looked horrified. "When did they find him?"

"A few hours ago," Sarah shook her head. "Poor baby, he's been crying since he got here. He's had a bath, and let me tell you, that was fun. He keeps crying for his mama, and I doubt she even knows he's missing."

"People are just sick," Nancy agreed. "When will social services be down?"

"Just as soon as a case worker finds a placement," she sighed. "They've all got too many cases and not enough time to get to them all. They asked us to hang on to him until then. There's a social worker keeping an eye on him. You just need to check in every once in a while, maybe you can get him to eat something, we haven't had any luck."

"I'll see what I can do," she said. Nancy pulled the chart on the little John Doe toddler. "Poor thing. I'll go and peek in on him. We can run through the rest of your list when you finish here, okay?"

"Sounds great," she smiled. "Thanks Nancy."

"Anytime girl, anytime." She took the chart with her and pulled her stethoscope around her neck. Nancy moved down the hall, sneakers squeaking against the freshly mopped tile. At sixteen she flipped open the chart and pushed into the room. "Hey Donna," she smiled upon recognizing the social worker. "How's our little guy?"

"Pretty unhappy," she was holding him, walking the length of the room. He was crying and fighting her. "I can't say that I blame him. He's had a pretty rough day."

"Aww." Nancy walked over and moved behind her. She swept his hair back from his face and frowned. Despite the tear stained, red face and swollen eyes, something bothered her about the child. "Where did you say he was found?"

"Venice Beach," Donna said. "He was wondering around, barefoot and alone. He had a couple of small cuts on the bottoms of his feet, but those got treated. He was hot, tired, and I think hungry, but he seems otherwise fine. Why?"

"He just looks familiar, that's all." Her lips pursed. "He's a cutie, though." She combed her fingers through his hair again. "Hey sweetie, I'm Nancy. You're not having a good day, huh?"

"Mama." He continued to cry and twist this way and that in the social worker's arms.

"I know." Nancy shook her head sadly. The unfortunate truth was, Sarah was probably right. His mother probably didn't even know he was missing. "I'm sorry buddy." She stroked his hair again and walked over to the counter that bordered one side of the room. "Are these his things?" She opened the bag and started sorting through it, wanting to compare it to what was recorded in the chart, all part of the shift-change.

"That would be it," Donna bounced him in her arms, trying to console the very unhappy child.

Nancy pulled on a pair of gloves before reaching in and drawing out the clothes. A frown drew her brows together. "Have you looked at these?" She held up a shirt. It was filthy, but not overly stained. "Where does an a two-year-old abandoned in Venice Beach get Ralph Lauren?"

Donna whistled. "Mom must be into some heavy stuff, or running tricks, you think?"

"I don't know. Those kind of women usually spend that on themselves." She pulled out a pair of khaki shorts and shook her head. "Calvin Klein." There was a belt pulled through the loops of the shorts, and it matched the blue of the shirt. "Okay, no." Nancy held up both items. "That belt had to cost as much as my Nikes. Are we sure about this kid?"

Donna looked puzzled. "I don't know. My office was called by the hospital. Beach patrol picked him up and brought him in to be checked out before being turned over to us."

Nancy was feeling uncertain about all of it. Her instinct wasn't jiving with what they thought happened. Or was it what they assumed? Her mother always told her that the first three letters of the word should tell her everything she needed to know about any kind of assumption. "Donna, I've got a friend with the police department. I'm going to call this in. I'm just not convinced it was a simple abandonment, not with designer duds."

"Go ahead," Donna shrugged. "It's going to be a while before we can place him anyway. I'll take all the help I can get, you know that Nancy. I don't mind being wrong about this little guy."

"Thanks Donna." Nancy stuffed the clothes back in the bag and stripped out of her gloves. "I'll just be a few minutes…" She paused before leaving the room and walked back over. With her cell phone, she took two pictures. One was a full body photo, the other was a closeup of his face. "I'll let you know what I find out. Bye honey," she waved, but he simply cried. She was starting to think that maybe he really was having a bad day. Back at the nurse's station, she used a landline to call her friend. "Hey, Bobby. I have a question for you. Are you working tonight?"

"Yeah," Bobby maneuvered his patrol car through traffic. "What's up Nance, got rowdy drunks already giving you a hard time, honey?" He chuckled. "I'm running patrol down in Inglewood tonight, I don't think I'll be able to swing by."

"Too bad." She smiled. "Listen, I've got a kid down here and the story I got from dayshift just isn't jiving." She adored Sarah, but she could be pretty focused, narrow minded about her tasks. "Beach patrol found him wandering around down in Venice Beach. They brought him in a couple of hours ago and called social services. We've still got him while they look for a placement, but here's thing Bobby. I pulled the clothes the kid was wearing, and it's all designer gear. I'm having a hard time believing that some strung out druggy or hooker let her kid wander off wearing Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein."

Bobby cursed when he was thrown against his steering wheel. He'd hit the break a little too hard as he came to a stop at a red light. "Nancy, say that again? What was the kid wearing?" He snapped his fingers at his partner and put the phone against his shoulder. "Pull the description on that missing kid."

"Blue and white striped Ralph Lauren polo and a pair of khaki Calvin Klein shorts," she said, "with a blue CK belt. I mean, that belt alone would cost more than my shoes. I don't even want to think about what it costs to dress a toddler in that kind of outfit on a daily basis."

"I hear you." He shook his head. "Hang on, honey. We're running it." He looked over at his partner and pulled through the light when it turned green. He pulled over at the next available curb and put it in park. "Nancy has a kid in the ER, blue striped shirt, khaki shorts."

Eric was pulling it up on the in car computer. "Let's see…" He read the Amber Alert description. "Dark hair, hazel eyes, blue striped shirt and khaki shorts. He was barefoot, taken from his home about four this afternoon." He swiveled the computer toward his partner, showing him the picture.

"Damn." Bobby felt a sudden thrill. Could that be the kid? They hardly ever actually found them, especially alive. "Hey Nancy, tell you what, I'm going to give you a number. Take a couple of pictures and send them to it, along with pictures of the clothes the kid was wearing. I think you may have found a missing that got reported this afternoon. Mom isn't a druggy, or a hooker. She's an LAPD Captain, and… if you just found that kid, you became my hero."

"Honey, if I just found that kid, _you_ can take me to dinner." She drummed her fingers against the desk. "Text me that number, I'll get the pictures over there. Who am I sending them to?"

"The name is Provenza," Bobby smirked. "He's a Lieutenant with Major Crimes. Eric and I are headed that way. I'll see you in a few." He ended the call and looked at his partner. "Is it entirely possible that we just found the kid of the lady that once called us amusing, incorrigible children?"

Eric laughed. "You know, that might just be what is happening here." He tilted his head. "But uh, Bobby, we are incorrigible children."

"True," he pointed out with a grin. "But she didn't have to laugh while she said it."

"Oh, she did." Eric leaned back in his seat while Bobby turned the car around. "Because it_ was_ amusing."

"It was kind of." His lips pursed. "Hey, how long has it been since we pranked FID anyway?"

"Uh…" Eric thought about it. "Not since she made us wash every single one of their cars."

"We might want to rethink that. You know, now that she transferred." He grinned widely. "Elliot is looking a little too full of himself these days."

Eric laughed outright. "Well we can't have that. Anything we can do to be valuable members of the LAPD."

While she waited for the boys to join her, Nancy sent the photos she had taken earlier to the number that Bobby sent her. Then she walked back to room sixteen and took pictures of the clothes he was found in and sent those photos as well. "Good news little man, I think I might know who you belong to…"

**MC MC MC MC MC MC**

"We've got him." There was a pause. "Get down to St. Catherine's, he's in the ER, room 16. I've got confirmation that it's him, and there's not a scratch on him."

Andy couldn't breathe. His hand had slipped to Sharon's back. He gripped the back of her shirt tightly. "What?" His chest burned, but he couldn't seem to convince himself to draw a breath.

"Do you need a translator?" Provenza was grinning, despite the gruff tone of his voice. "Get in the car, Flynn, drive to St. Catherine's Medical Center. Go to room 16 in the ER. There is a small human there waiting for you, and as I understand it, he's pissed as hell."

He pulled the phone away from his ear and he was just staring at it. Sharon felt panic threatening to well inside her. If it were bad news, someone would have come to deliver it personally, she knew. "Andy?"

Slowly his eyes moved to her face. He blinked. "They found him." He exhaled in a rush and felt the tension move out of him, leaving him limp. "He's at St. Catherine's, but he's fine…"

She stared at him. Her eyes began to fill with moisture. A hand covered her mouth. It pressed tightly against her lips. She took the phone out of his hand with shaking fingers and pulled it to her own ear. "Lieutenant," she could hardly breathe, much less speak. "Repeat?"

"St. Catherine's," he replied. "Room 16, ER. Get down there. You might want to let one of the kids drive. Tao says you might want to take ear plugs, he's not a happy camper!"

"We're on our way," she said tremulously. "Lieutenant… thank you."

"Yeah, well…" He cleared his throat. "Anyway, hurry up. The nurses are starting to complain about all the racket." Provenza hung up before he could say something truly emotional…. or she could start crying. He couldn't handle a crying Captain.

The phone slipped out of limp fingers. Sharon moved into his lap and caught his face in her hands. She kissed him. Lips, cheeks, and then buried her face in his neck. When his arms finally came around her, she shuddered. "Andy…"

"I know." His arms moved around her. He held her tightly. "We should go…" He couldn't seem to move just yet, instead, he continued to hold on to her. Just a moment longer. Just long enough for his heart to start beating again, and the room to stop spinning around them. "Okay," he breathed quietly. "Okay." Andy set her away from him and stood up. He held tightly to her hand and drew her with him. They'd get Ricky or Rusty to drive.

When they arrived at the hospital, they found Provenza, and the rest of their team, waiting near the nurses station. They hurried toward him. "Lieutenant?" Sharon called, the moment they were near enough.

He turned, brows lifted. "Captain." He smiled at both of them. "Right down there," he pointed down a long hallway to the left of the nurse's station. "I laid eyes on him myself. He's—" Provenza stopped talking, they'd already turned and headed down the hall. "I'll fill you in later," he decided.

Tao chuckled. "Would you want to be talking to you right now?"

He shrugged. "I could learn a lot from me."

"Uh huh." Tao shook his head and went back to filling out the paperwork for the hospital.

They heard him crying as they neared the room. Sharon dropped Andy's hand and jogged toward the room. She pushed into the room, almost tripping over the door, with Andy on her heels. He was unhappy alright. He was even fighting Julio, who was trying to comfort him as he stood, holding him in the center of the small treatment room. Her eyes locked on him, and for a moment, she couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. She gripped the door tightly with one hand. The other was pressed against her stomach. "Ian."

Thick and hoarse though the sound was, it was familiar enough to have the child's head lifting. He twisted toward the sound, and upon seeing his mother, he began to fight the arms holding him in earnest. "_Mama_."

Hands at her hips propelled her forward. Andy's fingers gripped her almost painfully as she was pushed further into the room. It pulled her out of her stupor. Sharon's legs felt heavy with the first few steps, but then she didn't care anymore and she was reaching for her child. She lifted him away from the Detective and turned with him in her arms. Ian's arms went around her neck, and he clung just as tightly. Her hand cupped the back of his head while her other arm curled beneath his bottom.

His cheeks were damp, salty with tears as she kissed them. She held him close and lay her cheek against his, lips against his hair. When her legs buckled beneath her, there were arms already around her, holding her up. She pressed her face into Andy's chest, and finally, the emotion which had been looking for an outlet for the past several hours worked its way free. A choked sob was torn from her.

Julio moved out of the room and ushered the social worker and the nurse out ahead of him. In the hall, he found the Captain's three kids waiting awkwardly. Rusty was shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Julio smirked and nudged him. "Don't be a weirdo, get in there." He nudged the kid toward the room.

Rusty shook his head. "She's crying." He flashed a wide-eyed look at the Detective. "It's… No." He couldn't do the whole… crying thing. It always freaked him out. Somethings shouldn't happen, like ever. Sharon crying was one of them.

Sanchez rolled his eyes at him. "Like I said, don't be a weirdo." He jerked his head toward the older son. "Do something with him?"

"I've got it." Ricky shoved Rusty into the room ahead of him. "She does this sometimes, you know. You'll get used to it."

"Thank you," Charlotte said quietly, and followed her brothers into the room. She pushed the door closed behind her, shutting out the outside world. She pulled her phone out and sent a text to her stepsister. "_It__'__s really him_," She sent. "_He__'__s really okay_." She chewed on her bottom lip. She had spoken to Nicole while waiting for her layover in Denver. Her stepsister was only _not_ with her dad and his wife because of her own small boys. With her phone, she took a picture of the tearful reunion and sent it to her. Charlotte glanced at her brother, watched him shrug.

Ricky had his hands shoved into his pockets, waiting, watching. Gone was the helpless feeling. Although it was hard to watch his mother cry, at least it was… not a bad result.

She held their child between him, and while she shook with silent tears, he held them both. He had known that these tears would come eventually, and felt his own throat tighten and ache with emotion. Ian had stopped crying, but he had a vice grip on his mother's sweater. Andy buried his hand in her hair and gripped the back of her head. He lowered his mouth to her tear streaked cheeks, and kissed away the moisture. His lips found hers and the salty tang of her tears mixed with the familiar taste of her kiss.

She reached up, curled a hand behind the back of his neck and drew him closer. Sharon rose onto the balls of her feet, and sobbed against his mouth. Her kids were watching, and for once she didn't care. Her hand fisted in his collar, his grunt told her that her nails had scoured him. Sharon shuddered against him. She gazed up at him, their eyes met, and reflected the same relief, the same joy. Their hurried, ragged breaths mingled as their lips moved more gently against one another. Her hand ached from the grip she had on his shirt collar. She released it and lay her fingers lightly against his jaw.

Between them, Ian had his head laying against her shoulder. His face was tucked against her neck. Andy lay a hand against his head. The other was still around her, pressed against her lower back. They continued to gaze at one another, even when his wife lay her cheek against the top of their son's head. He continued to hold them both, and wondered if he'd ever be able to let them go again.

It was minutes, but it could have been hours. Sharon exhaled quietly and lifted her head again. She shifted Ian in her arms when he grew heavy. He whimpered and she crooned softly. "You're okay," she promised. She let her gaze wander the room, and found her kids waiting, somewhat patiently near the door. "Hey," she bounced him in her arms. "Look, baby." Sharon turned slightly, let him see them. "Guess who is here to see you."

"Rutthy." Ian had his fingers in his mouth, but recognized the brother that he saw the most often first.

"Hey," he said, voice thick with emotion. "Mini-Flynn." His hands were buried deeply in his pockets. "So, you're rockin' some ugly hospital green huh? Good thing we brought clothes."

"Dinosaurs." Charlotte held up the clean pajamas she grabbed on her way out the house. She wriggled them at him. "Bet you're glad to see these, huh?"

"And maybe, we thought to bring something else." Ricky pulled a familiar matchbox police car out of his pocket. "Also…" He pulled a little red camaro out of the other, another toy car. "This is what you want to be driving buddy. You need to say, Mama, I _need_ hot wheels."

Ian made a noise that might have been a giggle, but buried his face more firmly into his mother's neck. She rubbed his back while Andy reached for the police car. He took it, but curled his hand between his body and his mother's. Sharon sighed quietly. It was only natural that he would be a bit insecure for a while. "Think maybe they can say hi," she asked quietly, and moved slowly toward them. When Ian didn't seem concerned, she held out an arm and beckoned the three of them closer.

Ricky and Charlotte went easily, but Rusty stood back. Ricky rolled his eyes at him. "You really are a spaz, aren't you?" He tugged him over and practically thrust him at his mother.

Charlotte giggled quietly. "Just when we think we've got him all broken in."

"Rutthy, paz." Ian reached out with his foot and touched his arm.

Ricky snorted and started to laugh. "Oops."

"Nice, thank you, Richard." Sharon shook her head at them. This time, she decided she'd let it go. "Do you want to see Rusty?" She leaned him toward his brother and she thought Rusty might balk at the idea. They gazed at one another for a moment. Her brow arched, and she waited. When Rusty reached for the toddler, he went to him.

"Hey little dude." Rusty held him. "So… this is, not fashionable. Maybe we should get rid of it, yeah?"

"Paz." Ian fluttered his lashes at him.

Rusty rolled his eyes. "You're not supposed to abuse the cool brother. You abuse the _not_-cool one," He jerked his head toward Ricky.

Andy curled his arms around his wife from behind and settled his chin against her shoulder. "So, just when we think they've matured and grown as individuals…"

"They get together and begin acting like twelve-year olds," she observed. Ian only allowed himself to be held by his brother for a short while. He was reaching for his mother again just a few moments later. Sharon pulled him back into her own arms, but only long enough to pass him to his father. She felt the shudder that ran through her husband when he held him, and understood. She leaned up to kiss him gently.

"I can't believe how big he's gotten," Charlotte sighed. "He was barely walking at Christmas." She pouted. "I'm missing practically _everything_." She knew that they face-timed at least once a week, but it wasn't the same thing, not even remotely.

"He's grown an inch since I was here last month," Ricky pointed out. "Ma, what are you feeding him?"

"We sprinkle a little miracle grow on his kibble every once in a while," Rusty drawled.

Sharon took the pajamas from Charlotte with a smile. "When you see him again, I'm sure he'll be even bigger." Yet, they _would_ be seeing him again, and she almost teared up again at the thought. "Why don't the three of you wait outside," She suggested. "We'll get him changed and then we'll see what we need to do to take him home, okay?"

"Sure." Charlotte shrugged. "I remember seeing a few hot doctors when you had him here, so, you know. I'm good with that." She smirked. "Come on Rusty!" She looped an arm through his. "Let's go check out the hotties."

He gave Sharon an aggrieved look. "Yeah, let's do that," he said drily. He let Charlotte tug him toward the door. He wanted to check with Lieutenant Provenza anyway, and find out what happened to Daniel Dunn. If anything. Had they even found him yet?

They waited for the children to leave the room, and stood, silent and somewhat awkward for a moment. Andy shook his head at the ridiculousness of _that_ and carried Ian over to the gurney to sit him on it. He didn't like the idea of being out of their arms, so he sat with the child in his lap instead. Sharon looked around the room and spying the cabinets which stood on one wall, she began opening them until she found several clean wash cloths. She took one of them and wet it before joining them. She washed the evidence of his tears from his face and tossed it aside, then she started working the small hospital gown off him.

While they dressed him in something warmer, and a lot more comfortable, she looked him over. From head to toe she checked him for any sign that he'd been injured, touched, or hurt in anyway. There were a few bruises on his legs, nothing overtly terrible. The cuts on the bottoms of his feet gave her pause, and although she shuddered at the horrors of having been abandoned to wander alone, she lifted first one small foot and then another to her lips. When Ian tipped his head back against his father's shoulder and smiled up at her, she thought her knees might buckle again. Instead, she drew the pajama bottoms up his legs and lifted him into her arms again once he was dressed. She held him, their foreheads pressed together. "Do you have any idea how much I love you?"

With a soft giggle, Ian held his arms out from his little body, stretched as wide as they would go. "Bunches," he said.

"That's right." Her voice shook with emotion. "Bunches."

Andy lay his hands against her hips and drew her to him again, so that they stood between his legs. "More bunches that you could ever count, pal." His arms moved around them, pulling them impossibly closer. His lips moved against his wife's ear. "More than _you_ could ever count," he whispered to her.

"Hm." Her lips curved into a smile. "I know." She thought again of all her fears, her doubts at being what he needed. She considered all the questions which rang through her mind at whether or not they were doing the best for him. The thoughts were quickly chased away. Whatever else might be true, this was their life now. This child was theirs. This small, precious life was entrusted to them. This being that they created together, against all odds and sanity. Somehow, in spite of every obstacle that lay in their path, be it their age, their jobs, and life in general… they seemed to continue to make something out of all the chaos. However tiny it might be, this little oasis of life was theirs. She would hold on to it, cling to it, for however long they were allowed. She would fight for it. Life didn't often provide second chances, but here they were. Sharon wouldn't allow them to squander it. They could only do the best they were able, and love him through any and all shortcomings. "Are you ready to go home?" The question was asked of her son, but her gaze was directed at her husband.

While Ian just nodded, Andy swept a lock of hair back from her face and tucked it behind her ear. "Let's get the hell out of here," he said. Before he could wake up and realize this was just a dream. He stood and wound an arm around her shoulders, keeping her close. Together, they left the room.

They rejoined the others, their children and team, at the nurses station. Sharon shifted Ian in her arms, so that he was held on her hip. Her hand stroked his back while his head lay against her shoulder again. "Are you Nancy," she asked, of the young woman in scrubs.

"Yes ma'am," She replied with a smile. "He seems a lot happier now."

"Thank you," Sharon said thickly.

"You're welcome," Nancy said. "I'm happy that we were able to put him back where he belongs. I'm sure someone would have realized soon, but… well, better now than later." She reached out and touched his hair. He turned his face, bashfully, into his mother's shoulder. "I really have to thank these guys," She waved a hand toward the uniformed officers standing nearby. "Bobby and Eric told me who to contact, otherwise we might have been hours just cutting through all the red tape with social services."

Sharon glanced toward them. Her eyes narrowed, then she laughed in recognition. "You two." Her lips pursed. "Well, thank you all."

Bobby shrugged. "You're welcome ma'am, but uh, you know… we aren't always in trouble."

"Hm," she hummed, unconvinced. "I'm sure, officer."

"Is there something we've gotta sign," Andy asked the nurse. "We'd like to get him home. He's pretty beat."

"I have your release papers right here." She pulled a clipboard off the desk. "Just sign and initial," she had highlighted the areas. "Since this was a missing persons, Social Services has already left. You just have to deal with me now, and after you sign, you're all done."

Andy reached for the clipboard and the pen that she provided. He quickly scrawled his signature and initials. "That's it then, we're out of here buddy."

"Almost." Nancy held out two sheets of paper. "Prescription. Antibiotics for the cuts on his feet. They're pretty shallow, and didn't need stitching, but he was wandering around on them for a while." She smiled sympathetically when his parents and family winced. The mother shuddered and held him closer. She felt even better for having gone with her instincts. "The other is aftercare instructions, and this…" She took a copy of the release papers and handed it over. "Is yours too. _Now_ you're all done."

Andy took it all, held it in one hand and lay his hand against Sharon's back, between her shoulder blades. "Okay, you heard her. Let's roll guys." He jerked his head toward the exit, indicating the kids should go ahead.

"Bye," Nancy waved at Ian, and smiled when he wriggled his fingers back.

Provenza and Sanchez walked out with them. "The Command Center has already been removed," he explained. "Taylor recalled it while you were in with the kid," the Lieutenant explained. "He had a couple of cars remain behind, uniforms to hold back the press. I'm calling him when you leave here. He's going to give you half an hour to get home, and then he's putting out the release that Ian's been found. We're still looking for Dunn."

"Go home," Sharon told him. "All of you. Get some rest. Pick it up tomorrow. I'm sure he's gone to ground for now, if not, Patrol has his description. He's not going to get far."

"No," Julio promised darkly. "He's not."

"Good." Rusty glanced at them and shoved his hands into his pockets. He stared at the ground while he walked.

"By the book," Sharon reminded them. "We have a history with Mr. Dunn. Let's make sure that, whatever we do, we remain beyond reproach."

"You really are in love with the rules," Provenza rolled his eyes. "Yes, we will do it by the book. It's the way we've been doing it. Go home, don't call us, we'll call you."

"You don't gotta tell us twice." When they reached Sharon's silver sedan, Andy unlocked the doors and pulled open the back passenger door for her. Rusty was with them, Ricky and Charlotte had ridden in his rental.

Provenza waited until the Captain climbed into the backseat with the toddler and secured him in the carseat. When Flynn closed the door, making it clear she was riding in the back. He shook his head. "She's dead on her feet. Make sure she gets some sleep, yeah?" He shrugged when his partner smirked at him. "Don't look at me like that, she turns into a stark, raving witch when she's tired."

Andy chuckled. "Yeah, whatever you say." He slapped his shoulder. "Don't worry, I never have any problems putting her to bed."

"Oh god," He groaned. "I could have gone the entire, rest of my life without ever hearing that." Provenza turned away, while Sanchez laughed. "We're leaving, Julio. Let's go."

"Yes sir," he continued to grin.

Andy rounded the car, but leaned against the driver's side for a moment. "Hey, Louie. Thanks."

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled. "Don't call me that."

He smirked as he slid into the car. Rusty just slanted a peculiar look at him. "You two are _weird_."

"We try." Andy waited until everyone was buckled in before starting the car. "You know, that's assuming of course that _you're _normal."

"Me?" Rusty snorted. "Not even close. I was young and impressionable, you all corrupted me."

Andy shook his head and pulled the car away from the hospital. "If that's what you want to believe," he drawled easily enough. The kid was probably right, though, they had probably corrupted him a bit. It didn't matter now. Andy glanced into the rearview, Ian was leaning against the side of his car seat. Already his eyes were drooping. His eyes met Sharon's for just a moment. Then she went back to combing her fingers through her son's hair and playing with one of his small hands. It was time to get his family home, and repair the pieces that Dunn had cracked but could never break.


	9. Chapter 9

Everything We Are - Chapter 9

by Kadi

Rated: M

Disclaimer: It's not my sandbox, I'm only visiting for a time.

* * *

Taylor was true to his word. Andy knew he was going to have to thank him, as much as he hated the idea. He was able to get his family home before the vultures showed up. There were a few press trucks already parked at the end of their street, which was as close as their LAPD brethren would let them get. There would be a few images of the car moving through those barriers, but nothing overt. It was the middle of the night, and the crews manning those trucks had been slow to react.

It was late when they got home. Into the wee hours of the morning. Andy sent the others to bed. Rusty was camped out in his old room, along with Ricky, while Charlotte had the spare room. Sharon took Ian upstairs while Andy locked up the house and set the alarm. They'd had every light on, and he went from room to room, shutting them off. Finally he let himself into the room he shared with his wife. Andy wasn't surprised to find that she had Ian in their bed.

Even hours later, with the sun slowly rising, as tired as he was, Andy found that he still couldn't close his eyes. He lay watching them, Sharon's gaze on his for sometime after they lay down with Ian between them. She stroked his back with feather light touches, drawing lazy circles in the dinosaur pattern of the green and blue pajamas until finally her eyes were too heavy and she too slipped away into slumber. In his sleep, Ian was curled against her chest, a hand wrapped tightly in her sweater. Clinging to her, even in sleep. Children were resilient, but Andy wondered how much of this ordeal would remain with him. He was only two, and Andy prayed that much of it would be forgotten, buried far in the back of his mind. This nightmare would stay with the rest of them, but there was no reason for Ian to remember.

He worried about Sharon. Being a mother was such an integral part of who she was, something none of them had ever seen before she transferred to the head of their division. This had rattled her, far more than he thought she was willing to let on, even to him. Hell, who could blame her, here he lay, afraid to take his eyes off of either of them out of this feeling that wouldn't go away… this terror that if he closed his eyes, even for a second, they'd be taken from him. Andy was still afraid that he'd wake up and realize it was a dream, that Ian was still missing. That, far more terrifying, he'd lost them both.

Andy rolled onto his back. He stared at the ceiling above, not quite seeing it. His chest tightened painfully as he thought back to that moment. His lungs burned with the need to breathe, but his body was frozen in time. He was lost in those horrifying moments, walking through his house with its eerie silence. Despite the television playing the annoying cheerful DVD that his son adored, it was still far too silent. There was no childish chatter, no Sharon replying to the gibberish of toddler speak mixed with known words, as though she understood without a doubt every word their son was saying. He was lost in the nothing, in the darkness of finding only his wife, unconscious and injured.

He pressed a hand to his forehead while the other clenched into a fist. There was that second, when he couldn't reach for her, when he was afraid to touch her. Afraid to know if he'd lost her or not. Andy finally drew a breath and it rattled, painfully, in his chest. His throat burned with emotion. There was a weight pressing down on him, it throbbed painfully through his body. Unable to stand it, he pushed from the bed and stumbled toward the bathroom.

He pushed the door closed and slumped against it. The light filled the room, but he still felt strangely cold. A chill filled him. Andy trembled with it. He rubbed a hand over his face and found it damp, a cold sweat had broken out, covering his body. He moved, slowly, toward the shower and turned it on. He set the water as hot as he could stand it and waited while steam filled the bathroom. His body felt sluggish, heavy as he pulled at the t-shirt and boxers that he'd gone to bed in. He let them fall carelessly to the floor.

The shower stood in a corner of the room, encased by glass on two sides, and marble tile at the back and side walls. He stepped inside and wanted the pain, so set both shower heads in the large, double structure to pouring down on him.

The water was biting, painful against his skin when he stepped into the shower and beneath the spray. Andy bent his head and let it rain down on him. He braced both hands against the tile and stood there. His chest heaved, painfully. When his legs threatened to give out beneath him, he leaned more heavily into the tile. He drew, painful, rattling gasps of air. The pressure behind his eyes took him by surprise. Andy lifted his face to the hot spray from above and let the sting of the hot water chase away the sting of the moisture in his eyes.

He couldn't recall having wanted a drink so badly in recent memory. He could almost taste the bourbon, and he knew… after just a few swallows of the warm, golden liquid, he'd no longer care just how close he'd come to losing everything. He could almost feel the coolness of the glass in his hand, hear the clinking of the ice, the slight hiss as the bourbon poured over it.

Andy clenched his jaw together. His hands curled into fists against the tile. It shuddered through him. The warmth would fill his belly, it would cloud his mind, and then nothing else at all would matter. He could forget. If only for just a few moments.

A hand against his back startled him. Andy jumped and glanced behind him. He found Sharon, leaning against the side of the open shower door, eyes wide and concerned. She tilted her head at him and her lips parted, but there was no sound forthcoming. He was breathing hard, but couldn't speak. He shook his head at her and looked down for a moment, suddenly ashamed of the thoughts that were just filling his mind. Andy's shoulders slumped, when he looked up at her again, there was moisture filling her eyes. He reached for her then, he curled a hand around her thin, tiny wrist and tugged her into the shower with him. His hands moved into her hair, he tipped her head back. His thumbs caressed her cheeks, her lips.

He lowered his face and their noses touched. Andy drew another, thick breath. The smell of her perfume, barely there and clinging to her hair and clothes filled his senses. His lips brushed the corner of her mouth. Suddenly there was something he needed far more desperately than any drink. Though it remained at the back of his mind, and he'd be finding a meeting first thing. No, he needed this too. He needed _her_.

His mouth angled over hers and he pressed her against the back wall of the shower. The water was drenching her clothes, and he didn't care. He drew her bottom lip into his mouth and when his teeth grazed it, he felt her shudder, heard the whimper. It was all it took to propel him into movement. His hands began pulling at her clothes. He dropped the sweater onto the floor of the shower, beneath their feet. He stooped and swept the sodden yoga pants down the long length of her legs.

As he stood again, his hands slid back up her legs, to the backs of her thighs. Andy lifted her, using the wall at her back as a brace. His back protested and he ignored it. She gasped, rather from the action or the coolness of the tile against her bare skin, he didn't know. His lips attacked her neck, teeth tugging at her skin. With her legs around him, he slipped his hands up her back, to the backs of her shoulders. He gripped her tightly and tugged her into an arch. His mouth moved over her collarbone, and the scrape of her nails in his hair made him groan.

His tongue dipped into the hollow of her throat, he sucked at her skin, following the rivulets of water that ran over them. When she tugged at his head, Andy lifted it. They stared at one another for a moment and he saw the answering desperation in her gaze. Her eyes were dark, nearly moss colored. He tipped his face up and sought her mouth again. Their lips meshed, tongues tangling as they fought to get closer, impossibly closer. He would drink her down, hold her forever, if only he could.

It was that which was the crux of his problem. He was going to lose her. It was inevitable. Either now or in thirty years, it wasn't a matter of if, but _when_. His knees buckled, and he sank with her to the floor of the shower. His knees protested the weight and the hardness of the tile as he sat with her in his lap. Water continued to rain down on them, but he curled his arms around her and held on, just as tightly as was possible. Her arms were curled around his neck, his shoulders. Andy turned his face into her neck and felt the pressure in him expand, and finally break. His chest heaved and the sound he made was broken, lost between a sob and a groan. He couldn't hold her forever. He could only pray to not outlive her, and how selfish was that? How much of an absolute prick was he, that he could fathom such a thing?

Hours of fear and uncertainty had brought him here, intellectually he could recognize that fact. His heart wasn't willing to listen. Not when it was aching so keenly. Not when it was breaking. He'd asked her, begged her, not to give up on them. Not to give up on their son. Being strong for her had taken its toll, and now he was falling. He couldn't be strong for her now. His weaknesses were bearing their ugly heads. He needed her, and this life they'd built. Even if it had the power to destroy them.

Naked and shaking, and clinging to one another on the floor of the shower, Andy drew his mouth against her ear. "Don't give up on me," he muttered, and realized that the salt he tasted on his lips was from his own tears.

"No." Her nails bit into his scalp when her hands gripped his head. She tipped it back to look down at him. There was pain and fear, and love, written across the familiar lines of her face. "God no. _Andy_." She drew her teeth across her bottom lip and shook her head. Her hair fell in thick, sodden strands around her face. The moisture clinging to her lashes was a mixture of tears and water. He was breaking. Shattering in front of her. "Never," she whispered, the sound almost lost in the hiss of the shower's spray. Her mouth lowered to his, barely touching. "I need you," she said in a thick, low tone.

The arm that was curled around her waist lifted her slightly, repositioned her weight against him. He lifted his other hand to the back of her neck. His chest was still heaving, the pressure still palpable. "Still?"

Her tongue swept his bottom lip, even as she nodded. "Always."

He pulled her down, claiming her mouth in a way that threatened to consume both of them. The taste of her chased away the lingering memory of the bitter bourbon on his tongue. With a low rumble, he pushed her onto her back, pressed her into the floor of the shower, and braced himself against the tile. He slipped an arm beneath one of her thighs and drew it high as he sank into her. Their voices mingled as he stretched and filled her. It wasn't comfortable, and they'd both be sorry for it later. They were too damned old for this, but that seemed to be the central theme of their lives of late, and now, he no longer gave a damn.

The shower chased away their tears. She moved with him, beneath him. Clinging and arching and giving him all of her. It was pain and pleasure. Threatening to drown her, to pull her down into its darkness. Then there were his hands, pulling her back, driving her higher. He was all around her, and inside her. The tile was cold, and it was hard. She braced a hand above her head, fingers splayed against the marble and using it as a purchase. The other was thrown around his neck, holding on tightly as he plunged, again and again. She could taste his tears, and hers. They were both crying, and it was too much and not enough at the same time.

It was desperate and fast, and then his hand was between them. He was touching her and she was sobbing for an entirely different reason. She was breaking apart and he was joining her. Both of them shuddering toward a release that had little to do with sex. Chests heaving beneath the impossible weight of fear and relief.

Minutes passed before he lifted her again. She was curled around him, arms and legs. They couldn't get any physically closer, even as he began to grow soft inside her. The shower's spray rained down on them, losing some of its heat, but they ignored it. They allowed it. They let it wash away all of the terror and the doubt, until all that remained was the two of them. Breaths mingled, lips barely touching, eyes wide and gazing at one another. They had their child back. But this, the two them. It lay at the center of all they needed. It was everything.

Once they finally left the shower, Andy drew a towel around her from behind and continued to hold her close. They stood together for several long moments until he reached for another towel and began to gently pull it through her hair. She groaned quietly and he winced, recalling the laceration. A gentle kiss was placed against the back of her head.

Sharon turned slowly in his arms and looked up at him. Her brows lifted inquisitively. She took the towel out of his hand. "Did you sleep at all?" She asked quietly.

Andy sighed and shook his head. "Not yet. I will." He shrugged. "I was watching you. Both of you."

Warmth filled her, but so did concern. She leaned into him, hands sliding gently up his arms. "Andy," his name left her lips on a sigh.

"Sharon, it's fine." He shook his head. "I'll…" She was looking at him, a knowing gleam in her eyes. He bent, forehead against hers. "I was afraid it was a dream. I didn't want to wake up and realize you were both gone. Then I was thinking that…" He shuddered and the admission cost him. "That having a drink might fix it all. I wouldn't care anymore."

Her hands came up to cup his face and she kissed him, so gently that it was barely a caress at all. "I'm sorry." She had broken, and left him to carry them all.

"God, Sharon. Don't be," he said roughly. "It's.. it's just part of the beast. It's always going to be there. I should have gone to a meeting last night, but I didn't want to leave you. I'll go this morning. It will be fine." He slipped his arms around her waist again, drew her closer. "I'm not… I wouldn't—"

"I know." Her hands gently stroked his face. "I don't worry about that," she told him. "I worry about _you_. I need you, Andy." Sharon drew a thin, shaking breath. "You're right, my children are my weakness. It's why I need you to keep me grounded. I need you to keep me moving forward. But I also need you to tell me what _you_ need. We're in this together. It's not only about you or I. I won't give up on you," she promised. "But I can't have you giving up on me either."

"Never gonna happen, Lady." He stroked her back gently. "You could try to get rid of me, and I still wouldn't go anywhere." Andy lowered his face, nuzzled her cheek and pressed a kiss against the corner of his mouth.

"Good." Her lips curved. "See that you don't." She leaned into his embrace, head against his shoulder. Her head was pounding out a rhythm behind her eyes to the tune of her heartbeat. Sharon hummed quietly. "Do you think you could lay back down with us for a little while?"

"Yeah," he whispered. "I think I could do that." Andy didn't make any attempt at moving from where he stood currently, however. He continued just to hold her. It wasn't until he felt her shiver that he finally sighed and stepped away. "Come on," he took her hand and tugged her with him.

Together they stepped back into the bedroom, still draped in only their towels. In the middle of their bed, Ian slept on. He'd drawn his legs beneath him and had his bottom pushed into the air. Andy shook his head, chuckled quietly. "Love that kid," he rumbled against her ear.

"Hm." She leaned her head against his shoulder. "I know what you mean." When she felt his gaze, she looked up at him. "At least if we're living the farce," she said softly, "we might as well enjoy it."

Andy nodded. "Somethin' like that." He drew her to the dresser and they both changed quickly, quietly, lest they wake the sleeping child.

When they lay back down, Sharon maneuvered Ian carefully, without waking him, so that he was curled against her chest while she lay against her husband. He curled his arms around both of them and she sighed quietly.

Sharon wouldn't sleep this time, she resisted the urge. Her hands stroked his arms where he held her, and she waited until she felt him grow heavy against her, his breaths more even. Her teeth sank hard against her bottom lip at the tears which filled her eyes. Her body trembled slightly with it. Sharon took small, shallow breaths until she felt more in control. She lay with her sleeping child and her sleeping husband, and for the moment, was content just to be.


	10. Chapter 10

Everything We Are - Chapter 10

by Kadi

Rated: M

Disclaimer: It's not my sandbox, I'm only visiting for a time.

* * *

By nine in the morning, LAX was full of travelers. Gavin Baker pushed through the throng as he pulled the cart carrying his luggage behind him. His body ached all over, and he reflected that they just didn't make first class seats the way they used to. Of course, he could also consider that perhaps he wasn't as young as he used to be and flying all night wasn't as simple as it once was.

He thought that perhaps the only thing he liked about flying all night when he returned from abroad was that it made moving through customs that much easier. There was hardly anyone there at all at eight in the morning. Now, he just needed to get to his car and he could fall into bed for a few hours. Then he would begin making phone calls and letting all of his people know that he was back in the country.

He'd tell them how lovely Italy was this time of year, and talk about going to Paris on holiday next summer. It was the same every time, but without fail, he would find himself in Italy again. It was, quite simply, his favorite place to be.

Gavin checked his watch as he stepped into a small airport cafe. The first order of business before going anywhere was going to be filling up on caffeine. He needed that temporary jolt to get him back to his apartment. Particularly with traffic being what it was this time of morning. He stepped into line and checked messages on his phone as it moved, slowly, forward. After giving his order to the young barista, he moved to one of the high tables near the wall and sat while he contemplated which of his calls he would return first.

The flash of a familiar dark head on the television in the corner caught his eye, however. Gavin pushed his glasses up his nose and glanced at it, wondering what sort of trouble Major Crimes had gotten themselves into while he was away. Something suitably gruesome if he knew that lot and his darling Sharon. Images coming across the screen at the familiar sight of Sharon's house, shot from the end of the block if he was any judge of distance, puzzled him enough that Gavin stood and walked over to increase the volume on the television.

"…And as we update ongoing stories at the top of the hour," the caster was explaining. "LA-News was pleased to begin reporting this morning on the happy conclusion to yesterday's kidnapping case involving officers from the LAPD's elite Major Crimes Division. As we reported yesterday, an Amber Alert was issued at five PM when the son of Captain Sharon Raydor was reported missing. Reports were sketchy at first, but we learned throughout the course of the evening that two-year-old Ian Flynn, who is also the son of LAPD Lieutenant Andrew Flynn, was taken from his home by this man, whose identity was released to us as Daniel Dunn." A picture accompanied the report. "According to police reports, Mr. Dunn apparently entered the Captain's home, assaulting her and kidnapping her two-year-old son. This began a manhunt which is still ongoing as police continue to search for Mr. Dunn. While this case continues to be ongoing, we were pleased to learn early this morning that Ian Flynn has been reunited with his parents. That reunion took place late last night at St. Catherine's Medical center. Assistant Chief of Police Russell Taylor issued a statement this morning indicating that the child was found wandering alone and apparently abandoned by his abductor yesterday evening in Venice Beach. The child was taken to St. Catherine's where he was treated for minor injuries and released to his parents. While attempts to reach the Captain and Lieutenant have been unsuccessful at this point, the LAPD has released a statement from the pair."

The screen changed and a text of the message was displayed, while the reporter began to read. "We are grateful to everyone for their thoughts and prayers in this matter. To our colleagues and those involved in the safe and timely return of our son, we extend our heartfelt thanks. We would like to ask that members of the press continue to respect our privacy as our family recovers from this trying ordeal." The newscaster's face appeared on screen again. "The statement further indicated that any subsequent updates and comments would be released through the press office at the LAPD. As I stated previously, Daniel Dunn remains at large at this time. The LAPD is asking that people continue to call in with tips and sightings, but they caution people that he is armed and considered dangerous, and is not to be approached. In other news…"

Gavin turned away and was already dialing his phone. Sharon's was going directly to voicemail and he supposed he shouldn't be surprised by that. Flynn wasn't answering either, and no one was picking up on the house phone. He scowled darkly as he tucked his phone away and gathered his things. He picked up the drink which had been left at his table and strode purposefully, and a bit furiously, away from the cafe. No one had called him. Of all the nerve… He would be having words with someone about that.

The lawyer retrieved his car from longterm parking and maneuvered it away from the airport. Traffic was as he expected it to be, but at least he wasn't headed toward downtown. Instead he was headed toward the quiet little neighborhood his friends lived in. At least, it used to be quiet, he supposed. With police and press crawling all over it, he supposed it wasn't so very quiet at the moment.

Since he was a lawyer and not a reporter, and familiar enough with the LAPD, he was allowed through at the checkpoint near the house. Gavin pulled his car to the curb in front of it and noted that there was at least one other parked alongside the familiar sedans that belonged to Sharon, Andy, and Rusty. Gavin made sure he had his phone as he left the car. Now to find out what the hell was going on while he was away. Couldn't these people ever stay out of trouble?

"There are still a lot of cars out there." Rusty peeked out from one of the living room windows, barely moving the blinds so that he could see the cars and news vans parked at the end of their street. "What part of, please respect us, do they never understand."

"Typically, it's the respect part." Andy moved into the kitchen to pour himself another cup of coffee. He had gone out earlier for a meeting, and had almost regretted it when he had to come back through a throng of flashing lights and people trying to crowd his car as it came back down the street.

"Rusty, come away from the window please." Sharon called from the kitchen. "If you're bored, you can set the table." She shared a smirk with her husband when he snickered. She stood at the stove, resolutely putting something together for breakfast while Charlotte stood nearby, holding Ian. He wouldn't let them put him in the high chair. He wasn't letting anyone put him down for long. It was to be expected, she supposed. Until he felt secure in his environment again.

Andy moved behind her and slipped an arm around her waist. He leaned into her back and looked over her shoulder. She was making pancakes. He nosed her hair aside and nuzzled her neck. "Blueberries?" A smile tugged at his mouth. He reached around her and snagged one of the fresh fruits from the bowl nearby.

"The kids like them, stop that!" She smacked the spatula lightly against his knuckles.

"I'm hungry." He turned his face into her neck and nuzzled.

"It will be done soon," she chuckled quietly.

"Oh god!" Rusty rolled his eyes. "If you're going to make me come in here, could you at least not do _that_." He shuddered, for good measure, as he walked to the cabinet to pull down the plates.

Charlotte laughed where she stood in the corner of the kitchen nearest the stove. "Rusty, they're never going to not do that. It's best to ignore them." Ian was playing with the end of her braid. She winced when he pulled a bit too hard and tugged it away from him.

"Yeah, it's best just to ignore us." Andy pulled his wife more firmly against him and nipped at her ear.

"Alright, okay," she shrugged away from him. Sharon pushed him back and pointed the spatula at him. "Go be useful, help Rusty set the table."

"I thought I _was_ being useful?" He flashed a crooked grin, and when she turned back to the stove, he dodged around her and snagged another small handful of the blueberries. He moved away, chuckling when she glared at him. There wasn't much heat in her look. He could see that she was more amused than anything.

"Andy!" Sharon shook her head at him.

"What?" He moved around to the other side of Charlotte and drew Ian's attention. "The kids like them," he drawled teasingly. He held one of them up and popped it into Ian's mouth when it opened. "Right buddy?"

"Yum!" His eyes lit up. He reached and twisted toward his father.

Andy put his coffee aside and pulled the toddler into his arms. "See?" He shared his bounty with Ian. "Tell mom to hurry up, we're starving here."

At the stove, Sharon turned and fixed him with a look. "Lieutenant, are you teaching my son bad habits?"

"Absolutely not, Captain." Andy inclined his head. He suppressed a smile at the dancing amusement in her green eyes. "I'd never dream of doing that. No, I'm teaching _my_ son patience is not a virtue when mom is making blueberry pancakes." There was still a dark cloud hanging over their heads. They all felt it. It would be there until Daniel Dunn was caught and placed behind bars. Until that happened, they were doing their best to move beyond it. They wouldn't allow their children to be effected by this anymore than they already had been. Andy bounced his son in his arms and looked at him. "So, what do we say?"

Ian stared right back at him. A smile graced his little face. He looked at his mother. "Hurry!" He paused. "Please?"

"Really?" Andy looked at him. "You had to go there?" He watched his son cover his face and throw his head back, giggling. "I thought we had something goin' here. How could you just leave me hanging like that." The high-pitched, happy laughter did more to chase away the darkness than almost anything else could. When Ian lifted his head and looked between his fingers at first his father, and then his mother, Andy shook his head. "She's making the face isn't she? That's why you sold me out."

Sharon turned off the stove and lifted the platter of pancakes to carry to the table. She slanted a look at him as she walked past. "We'll talk about it later, Mr. Flynn."

Andy and Ian looked at each other. "Ah oh," the child said.

"I've been demoted, kid. A few minutes ago, it was Lieutenant." He heaved a playfully exasperated sigh. "One of these days, I'll learn."

"Nope." Ian cackled again.

Sharon rolled her eyes at them and walked back to the stove to get the eggs and bacon that she had made to go with the pancakes. There was also a plate of fresh fruit, which Charlotte carried over. "Well, he's observant at the very least," She drawled.

"Nah," Andy smirked. "Kid's just smart enough to know it's always best to keep mom happy."

"That's the truth," Rusty and Charlotte muttered. The former brought over the orange juice, while the latter set a carafe of coffee in the center of the table.

"Which puts him leagues ahead of his elder siblings," Sharon chirped with a grin. She moved toward the living room when they heard the doorbell. She waved Andy back when started to hand Ian off and follow her. "That is probably Nicole and the boys." She moved through the living room and paused at the stairs to call out, "Ricky, breakfast." Her eldest had gone up to shower and change when she started cooking.

"Out in a few," he called back.

Sharon nodded and moved through the foyer. She made note to remind the kids to close the baby gates. She peeked through the window beside the door before opening it and gasped at the identity of the visitor. Sharon flipped the locks and tugged the door open immediately. "Gavin!" Surprise lit her eyes. "I thought you weren't back until—oh!"

He pushed into the house, closed the door behind him, and folded her into a tight hug. She looked like three kinds of hell, all hidden under a careful application of makeup. Her hair was down, as it usually was, and pulled over her shoulder. It was a nice, soft look for her. The only problem was that she was pale, with dark smudges beneath her eyes that even the best application of Clinique concealer could not completely hide. She was drawn and he could see, brittle and frayed around the edges. "You didn't call me," he stated brusquely.

Of course, it was all over the news, she realized, at least locally. "I'm sorry," Sharon murmured. "I didn't—I'm sorry." There was no excuse, even if they hadn't been thinking altogether clearly. "I dropped by your office several days ago and your assistant told me you'd already left for Milan." Sharon pulled back and smiled tremulously up at him. "I really just didn't think of it. Gavin, it's all happened so quickly."

He felt her tremble and pulled her into another hug. "I understand." His hand stroked her back when he felt her tremble again.

He was one of her oldest friends. The man had just returned from a vacation in Italy, and all she could smell was the inexpensive, department store cologne that his mother sent him for Christmas every year. A broad smile curved her lips. "I'm so glad that you're here," She murmured.

"So am I, sweetie, so am I." Gavin drew back and took a good, long look at her. "Obviously, you need me. You look like—"

"I don't even want to think about it." Sharon rolled her eyes at him. "I just made breakfast. Come and join us."

"If there's coffee," He stated, "I'll follow you anywhere, darling."

"Of course there is." She smirked. "Haven't you met my husband?" Sharon smiled. "Ricky and Charlotte are here too. I know they'll want to see you."

"Well, you had me at coffee. I'll stay for the little Sharonlings." Gavin drew her arm through his as they walked toward the kitchen.

Ricky came down the stairs behind them, hair still damp from the shower, but feeling much better in clean clothes. "You know, at some point, I think we grew out of being called that." He slapped the lawyer on the shoulder as he joined them. He was now, roughly, the same height.

"I think not." Gavin smirked. "Looks like her, talks like her, acts like her…" His lips pursed. "Sharonling." He waved an imperious hand at the eldest offspring and strolled into the kitchen. His gaze quickly swept it, took in the position and demeanor of each person present. "Ahh… little Flynnling!"

Sharon snorted quietly. "Not to hear his father tell it."

Ian was seated in his father's lap, while his sister cut his pancakes into small pieces. He thrust his arms up almost immediately. "Gabin!"

The lawyer's eyes narrowed. "Are you in anyway currently stained? I am wearing Armani." He looked the child over carefully before he finally lifted him. "Can you say Armani yet."

"Ah-Mani now." Ian smiled.

"Close enough." He curled an arm around him and settled him on his hip. "You get points for being demanding. Nice delivery little Flynnling. There is hope for you yet."

The doorbell rang again and Ricky, who had yet to join them at the table, turned toward the living room. "I'll go this time. Mom, sit." He nudged her toward a chair. He knew that her head had to be killing her, but she was fighting it.

"Come on, babe." Andy caught her arm and tugged her around into her usual seat. He stood when he heard his daughter's voice, joined by the sound of his step-grandsons. "I'll take care of them."

Sharon sighed, but nodded. She did have a rather unpleasant headache. It was to be expected. They'd warned her she would experience them off and on for a few days while she recovered from the concussion. "Thank you, honey. Gavin, take a seat. She reached across the table for one of the empty mugs and poured coffee into it for him. Then she took Ian's plate from Charlotte and placed it in front of her to finish filling it for him. For both of them, as they would, per usual, share. "I'll take him," She told Gavin, when he'd finally gained his seat.

They exchanged her child for the cup of coffee and Sharon drew him across her lap. "Mom, you should really put him in the high chair, you need to—" Charlotte stopped and shook her head at the look it earned her. "Okay," she conceded with a small smile.

"Charlotte, I understand that you're all worried," Sharon gave Ian his plastic spoon and drew their plate closer to the edge of the table. "But this is how we do breakfast. Furthermore, I am fine." She smiled gently at her daughter. "I used to do this with you, and I did it with Ricky, and in many, many years from now, when I'm very much older, I promise to do it with the grandchildren too. Okay?"

"Yes ma'am." Charlotte lifted her orange juice and smiled.

"Look what I found," Andy strolled into the kitchen with one of the grandsons beneath his arm. The other was jogging along behind. He dropped him onto his feet and walked over to pull down more plates.

Nicole walked quickly into the kitchen. "I am so glad that you are okay," she bent to hug her stepmother. "I'm sorry we couldn't come yesterday."

"Nonsense." Sharon hugged her back. "It was better for the boys to keep them away." She cupped her stepdaughter's cheek for a moment before she leaned back.

"Hey honey." Nicole knelt down in front of her brother. "I heard you had a rough day." She swept a hand through his dark hair. "Look what Jake sent you. He wanted to come and see you but he had to work." She held up a stuffed zebra. Her husband was a public relations manager at the Los Angeles Zoo.

"That was very nice." Sharon dropped a kiss to the top of his head. "What do you say, Ian?"

"Thank you." He drew it to him and buried his face in its neck.

"You're welcome." Nicole leaned forward and kissed his cheek. After a moment, she stood up again. "Jake really did want to come," she explained. "We thought maybe, in a few days, after everything settles down a bit, you could bring everyone out to our place." They lived further outside the main city, up in the hills. It was a bit quieter there. "Make a day of it, let the kids play in the pool, fire up the grill and torment dad with piles and piles of fire roasted meat."

Sharon's gaze found Andy on the other side of the kitchen. When he nodded, she smiled. "That sounds wonderful, honey. We'd love to. Perhaps we can arrange it before everyone goes back to their respective cities," She glanced at her own children in askance.

Ricky and Charlotte looked at one another and shrugged. "Sounds good to me." They both said. The grown stepchildren didn't spend much time together, but they seemed to get along well enough when they were together. The problem was distance, with Ricky in Northern California and Charlotte in in New York. They were only home a few times a year, specifically around the holidays.

It was Rusty that she was closer to. Nicole moved to him as he and her dad got her boys settled on stools at the center island with their breakfasts. "How are you?" She asked quietly.

He glanced over and shrugged. "Better now. It's been…" He shot a look at Sharon and shrugged. "You know. And they've been…" he shot a look at her dad and rolled his eyes. "You know?"

Nicole chuckled. "You've got a way with words, Rusty Beck." She ruffled his hair, making him scowl at her. Then she moved over and poured herself a cup of coffee. She had eaten with Jake that morning and wasn't very hungry, but her boys never turned down food. Especially when it came from one of their grandparents' homes.

He gave her a lopsided grin back. "Yeah, I know." He glanced at them again, Sharon and Andy. With the boys settled, he'd gone back to the table. He was back in his seat beside her, an arm draped casually across the back of Sharon's chair. "It's better now," he was all he said, deciding to keep it at that.

There was more he wasn't saying. They were all still a bit fragile. Nicole hummed quietly and lifted her coffee cup to her lips. She jerked her head toward the other room and he nodded. She moved out ahead of him, knowing the boys would be in good hands without her. In the living room, they stepped out the back doors onto the deck. "Okay, start talking."

Rusty sighed. He shoved his hands into his pockets and walked toward the rail. "What is there to say? My biological sperm donor tried to kill the lady who saved me from him, then he stole her kid, and now every cop in the city is looking for him." He was barefoot and the wooden deck was cool beneath his feet. He turned and pressed his back against the railing. "I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel about it. I want them to catch him. They _need_ to catch him. It is better right now, but before… I think it broke them a little." Rusty trembled a bit, remembering. "Do you remember the night Ian was born? Your dad was like that a little. A lot," he amended. "And Sharon… I've never seen her…" He thought maybe that frightened him more than anything.

Nicole walked over and leaned against the railing beside him. "It's a scary thing," she said quietly. "Being a parent. I didn't realize how much until I married Jake. I thought I was ready for it. I didn't have the first clue. I thought I loved those boys, and then I was responsible for them, and I've never been more terrified. I love them like crazy, but it's the scariest thing in the world, Rusty." She shook her head. "And you know, they're not even mine."

He slanted a look at her, and he grinned. "Yeah, they are." Rusty nudged her shoulder. "I know I can be kind of dense sometimes, and pretty difficult, but if there's one thing I've learned in the last three years, it's that sometimes, love is a lot thicker than blood."

"Wow." She looked at the sky. "When did you grow up and get all smart on us?" Nicole nudged him back. "I haven't heard you snark even once since I got here, I don't know if I can cope."

Rusty rolled his eyes at her. "Well, the old people were keeping their hands to themselves, so…"

"That's better." Nicole pushed away from the railing and turned to look at him. "It has nothing to do with you, you know that right? I know they told you, because I know my dad, and I know how Sharon feels about you. Listen to them, Rusty. Don't get all weird about it. Feel it, because I know you have to. It effects you too, but this guy… that Daniel, don't let him have any of you."

"I won't." Rusty stared back at her, gaze unwavering. "I'm am done with that asshole. Whatever happens to him, it's on his head. I just feel like… when everything is going great for us, the ground decides to open up and try to swallow us. I don't know how to stop it."

"You can't." Nicole smiled at him. "It's life. Sometimes it sucks. Most of the time it's pretty okay, and there are moments that are truly amazing. All we can do is go with it."

"Yeah." Rusty shook his head slowly. "You know something, you're starting to seriously freak me out right now. I mean, you're totally sounding like Sharon. It's kind of scary. What is that, like, a mom thing?"

"Maybe." She shrugged. "Or maybe I have actually been listening. You could follow my very good example."

"Uh huh." He smirked a there. "Don't like, hold your breath or anything."

"Ugh." Nicole rolled her eyes and gave him a light shove. "What are we going to do with you?"

"I'm not entirely sure," he replied, "but I think there should be gifts involved…"

Inside, Andy craned his head to peek out onto the deck for the tenth time since Rusty and Nicole had slipped out of the kitchen. They had been talking for sometime, and it seemed a bit pensive for a while. Then both their expressions had eased. He tried to hide his worry behind his coffee mug. "Stop it." Sharon had been watching him, in between sharing breakfast with her youngest. "They're fine."

"I know." Andy reached over and took a strawberry off her plate. "Just… keeping an eye on things," he replied.

"Hmm." She hummed with a smile. "Of course you are." She flashed an indulgent look at him. Proximity had made Rusty and Nicole closer than the other children. He had a fairly decent relationship with her older children. They got along well, but they weren't overly close. He wouldn't confide in them. There were many ways in which Rusty was still very guarded. Nicole and her family were present in their lives, and with her marriage to Andy and Ian's birth, the two families spent as much time together as their busy lives allowed.

It helped too, that in a lot of ways Nicole was much like her father. She didn't allow you to hide. She had accepted Rusty because she sensed that he needed it. In part, Sharon thought it was Nicole's relationship to her stepchildren that bridged the gap between the two. She understood, as almost no one else could - save perhaps Andy, how much Sharon could love the boy that was not quite her own.

Sharon glanced at her husband again and saw that his gaze had once again moved outside. She reached over and touched his hand. She smiled gently at him. "He'll talk to her," she said quietly. "Then, later, he'll be more prepared to talk to us. He can't right now. If Buzz or Lieutenant Provenza were here now, he would be talking to them. I think he'd much rather it, actually. But they're a little busy right now, and Nicole is available. Stop worrying, she's her father's daughter. She's going to drag it out of him. He'll be okay."

"Yeah alright." He draped his arm across the back of her chair again, and stretched his hand up to flick her hair playfully. "But I'm still going to worry," he groused.

"Yes, I know." Her smile warmed, she leaned toward him. Her lips brushed the corner of his mouth. "If you weren't worrying about something, you wouldn't be you."

"Cheeky." He reached for Ian and drew him into his own lap when his son began to play more than eat. "Okay, we need to talk," he told the boy. "It's this selling me out thing. I've been thinking about it. We have to work on your timing. If you're going to take mom's side, just don't do it in front of me. There are rules about this sort of thing, son."

"Rules." Ian nodded seriously. "Mama. Rules."

"Damn." Andy snorted. "He's got you pegged."

"I'll say," Gavin snorted.

Sharon laughed. "Well, never let it be said that he isn't incredibly intelligent."

"I'm also sensing a strong case of self-preservation there," Charlotte stated.

"Yeah, we've talked about it at length," Ricky said. "I can't wait until he's a teenager. The things I can teach this kid." He grinned crookedly.

"Richard Raydor," His mother glowered at him, albeit with little heat. "You will _not_ be teaching your brother how to sneak out of the house or hot wire the car."

"Well, it's pretty hard to hot-wire anything these days," Ricky pointed out. "But the sneaking thing, sorry mom, love you lots, but it's a right of passage. We all did it. This one will be no exception."

Sharon glanced at her daughter. Charlotte smirked. "What? You thought I wanted the window seat because it looked cute? Please, I wanted something soft to land on when I snuck back _in_ to the house."

"For the record," Ricky said. "It was Gavin that taught me."

"Well someone had to make sure these kids acquired some useful skills," the lawyer stated, upon receiving a glare of his own from their mother. "What if he went to a nightclub and lost his keys, he needed to be able to get home without calling you somehow." Gavin lifted his coffee to his lips. "Besides, you're the one who taught me."

"What?" Andy stared at his wife, wide-eyed. "You taught _him_," he pointed at Gavin, "how to hot-wire a car?" He squinted at her. "What even are you?"

She giggled. "I have brothers." Sharon shrugged. "I also have an ex-husband with a few questionable skills of his own. Or, probably more to the point, he had a few questionable friends at one time."

"Wait a second," Andy tilted his head at her. "You're telling me that your ex-husband taught you how to hot-wire a car, and you've been holding out on me?" He blinked. "What else do I not know about you?"

"Well if I told you," she drawled, "all the mystery would be gone." The corners of her mouth twitched toward a smile. "Suffice it to say, I could have a few skills that you've never seen," she said at length, and in a low tone.

"I think I really love you," Andy sighed.

"Well, since I really love you too, I think that's okay," she replied.

"Good, glad that's settled." Andy stood up with Ian and grinned. "We're off to get cleaned up." He bent and pressed a kiss to her smiling mouth.

"Thank you." She pulled one of Ian's hands to her mouth, kissing it. "Have fun."

"Fun, fun, fun." Ian smiled, a bit devilishly.

Sharon watched them go, and only when they were no longer in view did she turn to Gavin. They would need to talk, but not yet. Not while the children were present. It would wait just a little while longer. "So, tell me about Italy…"


	11. Chapter 11

Everything We Are - Chapter 11

by Kadi

Rated: M

Disclaimer: It's not my sandbox, I'm only visiting for a time.

* * *

There was something in the way that he looked when he slept. A peace settled over him that was rarely seen during his waking hours. The seemingly almost constant line that drew his brows together faded away. He would bury his face into a pillow, and with his arm thrown over his head, there was just something a bit carefree, almost boyish in it. He lay on his stomach, facing the middle of the bed. He had a knee bent, and drawn slightly forward. She hated to wake him. Not when he looked so peaceful, when he finally appeared able to rest. He only wanted to sleep for a couple of hours, just a nap, he'd said. He made her promise to wake him. Sharon drew her bottom lip between her teeth and considered whether his ire would be worth risking if she let him sleep. To her way of thinking, it might just be.

Beside him, sprawled on his back, was the child that looked and acted so much like him. Even lost in dreams their expressions were similar. Ian's head was turned toward his father, and he had an arm thrown over his head, while the other was draped limply over his father's arm. Andy had brought Ian up to tuck him away for his own nap, but neither of them were particularly ready to leave him alone in his room just yet. They weren't ready to have him out of their sight, just as he wasn't ready to be out of it. She worried that they were clinging a bit too much, but it hadn't even been twenty four hours since the entire ordeal began. Sharon didn't care. Let it be as it was, she decided.

Sharon tipped her head against the frame of the open bedroom door. She hadn't moved much farther than that for fear of disturbing them. Her arms were folded around herself, and despite the heat of the day, she wore her dark cardigan. She had hardly taken it off since getting home from the hospital the previous evening… only to sleep, or to _shower_. Her back still ached. They were both entirely too old for such antics. She wasn't sorry.

They were entirely too old for a lot of things they'd done since the start of this relationship. When Sharon chose to end one marriage she wasn't looking, expecting, or anticipating that she'd find another. She never expected Andy at all. He seemed to become important to her quite out of the blue. The rest was… well, it simply _was_. She could rarely make sense of her life these days, not that it was in any way unpleasant, recent events notwithstanding.

She continued to watch the sleeping pair in the bed, a small smile tugging at her lips. It was the heart's capacity to love that also held the capacity for such pain. Doubt. She did love. It filled her with warmth. It was an odd sort of light in the dimming years of life which were tumbling down the wrong side of fifty. It was worth it. Worth all the pain and the fear, and all of the doubt. How could it not be? Especially with them looking so peaceful, and perfect, and _right_.

Sharon was thinking that risking her husband's ire might just be worth sliding into bed alongside him for a little while. The body ached, it yearned for rest and solace. She pushed away from the door, intent on entering the room, but drew up short at the quiet summons that came from her left.

"Mom?" Ricky moved down the hall, cell phone in his hand and an almost sheepish look on his face. He held it out. "You still aren't answering yours unless it's work."

Sharon moved away from the bedroom door and accepted the phone. That was true. She and Andy were both screening their calls. They were receiving too many calls from news stations and reporters with requests for interviews. Family knew to call Charlotte or Ricky to reach her, and Nicole was calling Rusty. "Thank you honey."

"Mom, before you-" Ricky sighed, he never got the chance to finish.

She lifted the phone to her ear and moved further past him. "Hello?"

"Sharon."

Her breath hitched. That was unexpected, although perhaps not entirely. Her steps hastened and she moved to the end of the hall. There was a large window there, which overlooked the back yard. Her gaze zeroed in on the patch of flower garden not yet finished. She really needed to work on that. "Jack."

"Are you _okay_?" He was worried, and in his concern he sounded mildly aggrieved.

A small smile curved her lips. Sharon tilted her head. "Yes, I'm sorry. I didn't think-" Despite anything else which might have happened between them, separation, absenteeism, and finally divorce... they had once meant something to each other. Their children still connected them, even if Jack was an absent and somewhat questionable father. There was still too much history between them to expect that either could ignore it if something happened to the other. As was the case now.

The hitch in her voice was telling. Jack sighed. "Honey, don't do that." He hated when she cried, he always had. At some point she'd stopped crying where he could see it, and well... that was water under the bridge now. "I uh... I saw the news. They're saying you were assaulted? _What_ is going on out there?"

Her throat cleared, and she smiled tremulously, despite his inability to see it, at the frustration in his tone. "We're okay," she repeated, with much more conviction this time. "Just a concussion. Jack, I don't really want to discuss details over the phone. I'm okay, really. It's a non-issue now."

He sighed, again. "What about _him_? Has he been to a meeting?"

Sharon smiled. They were friends once. Of course Jack knew his history. It was one they shared. Although, Jack had traded one addiction for another, Andy had actually worked on his recovery, and continued to do so. "Jack..." Again she didn't want to discuss certain details on a phone line which might, or might not be secure, given all of the interest in them at present. "He's okay, I promise. I know what to look for." It was a bit of a dig, but it would get him off the subject. She didn't feel too awfully bad about it.

"Yeah, okay." He got the message. "How is the squirt. News said you'd gotten him back?"

She looked skyward. "Squirt? Jack, honestly..."

"Hell, Sharon. You got remarried, you had another kid, what am I supposed to call him?"

Her lips pressed into a thin line, more to suppress a smile than anything. "How about his name? Ian is... he's doing well. It was an ordeal for him. Children are amazingly resilient, however. I'm hoping he's too young to remember. At the moment, he's a bit clingy, but then so are we. But physically he's perfectly fine."

"Hm." He grunted quietly. "That's good. What about the other one? The kid."

She shook her head. "Rusty is okay. I..." It was Sharon's turn to sigh. "He hasn't spoken to me yet. He isn't ready. He will."

"But _you_ are okay?" He asked again, stressing it.

"Yes," she said more softly. "Jack, I'm fine. I promise, I'm okay. I can hardly turn around without one of the children hovering, and of course Andy-" She didn't finish that statement, because it would be somewhat cruel. "It's... you don't need to worry about me." She decided it was better to change the subject. "You spoke to Ricky? Charlotte is here too, you should-"

"She doesn't want to talk to me." Jack chuckled. "She's too much your daughter. Stubborn."

"Hmm." Sharon hummed. She suspected that was true. "Interesting. I always thought she got that particular trait from you."

"Funny." He huffed a sigh at her. "Look, Sharon, I gotta go. But I'm glad that you're all okay." He paused for a moment. "Do you need anything?"

She felt the sting of tears in her eyes again. "No," she said softly. "I have everything that I need right here."

"Yeah," he said a bit roughly. "I guess that you do. Take care, okay?"

"I will," she murmured. "Jack, thank you for calling." He said nothing else, and she sensed that maybe he wanted to. Instead, she heard the tell-tale click of the phone being hung up. Sharon sighed quietly as she drew it away from her ear. She studied it for a moment, and then she turned. Sharon wasn't surprised to see Ricky hovering at the other end of the hall, hands tucked into his pocket and looking incredibly uncomfortable. She smiled warmly at him, and held out the phone once she'd joined him. "It's okay honey. It was good that he called. I should have called him."

He tucked the phone back into his pocket. "It's a little weird, I guess. You're not married anymore, and even when you were…" Ricky glanced up at her and trailed off with another awkward shrug. "I wasn't sure that you wanted to talk to him."

Her smile gentled. Sharon lay a hand on his arm. "Before we were married, we were friends. Remember that, Ricky. You have to start somewhere, and it needs to be solid. Or else the passion that you think you feel will burn itself out, and there will be very little left." Her head tilted, and she thought for a moment. "Some things work out, and others do not. It wasn't all…" Sharon sighed, because her marriage wasn't something she had ever discussed with her children. She always maintained that it was none of their business. She wondered if that was the wrong approach to have taken. "Listen, honey. We had some very good years, your father and I. No matter what else might have happened between us, I will always remember that. He also gave me you and your sister. I can't regret it." Her hand moved from his arm to cup his cheek. "Okay?"

"Okay." Ricky grinned at her then, and it was the crooked, cheerful grin that he'd inherited from his father. "You look tired Ma, how's your head?"

"It's there," she sighed quietly. "I thought I might lay down for a while. Can you three entertain yourselves?" Nicole had taken the boys and gone home some time ago.

"I think we can give it a try." Ricky turned away from her. "I mean, if all else fails, we can play drown the sister. That's always a good time."

Sharon looked skyward. "Richard."

He chuckled as he walked down the stairs. "Relax, would you? We'd never drown her for _real_."

"Oh god." She pinched her nose and turned back toward her room. "I had boys. It had to be _boys_." Sharon shook her head as she walked, once more, into the bedroom. This time, she closed the door behind her. She leaned back against it and took a moment to simply breathe. Of course it had to be boys, and two of her favorites were still sprawled comfortably across the bed. After a moment, she pushed away from it and strolled quietly toward them. She toed out of her shoes and climbed onto the bed.

There was plenty of room behind her husband. She crawled in along the edge of the bed and slid up against his back. He started slightly, and she pressed her lips against his neck, just behind his ear. "Shh." Her arm slid around his waist and the length of her body was pressed against his long form. Sharon curled one of her legs through his and pressed her forehead against his back, between his shoulder blades. When his hand curled around her wrist and drew her closer, a smile curved her lips. Tucked in against him as she was, she let her eyes close.

In sleep, time had little meaning. When she woke again, it was to the feel of a feather light touch. The faint brush of fingertips against her cheek, and she felt her hair lifted away from her face. Sharon was laying on her back, a hand draped across her stomach. Her eyes fluttered open, and though her head ached, the severity was receding. When her gaze cleared, she found her husband looking down at her, head propped in his hand. A brow arched, one corner of his mouth twitched toward a half grin.

"You were supposed to wake me," he rumbled quietly.

"Hm." She hummed quietly, her brows lifted once, in a playful bob. "I might have fallen asleep before I could." A small smile appeared. It matched the glimmer in her eyes.

"Uh huh." He wasn't convinced. His other hand came up to sweep another wayward strand of dark hair from her face. His thumb caressed her cheek. Andy pushed his hand along her jaw until his thumb traced her bottom lip. He leaned down, but his lips only brushed the curve of her cheek. When she hummed again, a quiet sound in the back of her throat, his lips brushed her closed lids, one and then the other. He kissed the tip of her nose, and then finally, the barely there caress of his lips brushed over her mouth. "Hi," he whispered.

"Hi." She smiled up at him. Her fingertips brushed the curve of his jaw. Her hand circled his wrist and she turned her face into his palm. She hummed again before she leaned her head toward him.

His eyes were dancing in the dim light of the room. He watched her for a moment, let his eyes wander her face. She seemed more rested, but there was a wariness in her that would take time to heal. There was movement behind him and he arched a brow at her. Andy jerked a head toward the middle of the bed. Then he craned his head around to look at the little boy that was peeking up over his side. Then he glanced back at his wife. "Someone else woke me up instead." He watched her eyes move slowly toward the dark head that was now poking up over his shoulder. He watched her face relax completely, and the light shift in her eyes. The corners of her eyes crinkled happily, and when her lips curved, it was a soft, warm smile. She lit up completely, and yet there was a gentleness about her. Sleep mussed and tired, and so alive and lovely it always stole his breath. Andy lifted his arm and chuckled quietly when Ian launched himself over his body at Sharon.

She laughed when she caught him. "Well, hello!" Then she groaned when his little body collided against her. He was getting to be so big. She curled her arms around him and hugged him against her. His happy, high pitched laughter only made her smile wider. She kissed the top of his head, and then his cheek, and nuzzled his neck until he laughed and squirmed against her. She held him, just happy to be able to do so.

"Mama." Ian lifted his head and stared down at her, a serious expression on his face. "Up!"

Her brows lifted in amusement. "So demanding, little prince. How should we be asking?" His lashes fluttered. He lowered his chin toward his chest just slightly and looked up at her. It was a look so very much his father that she almost laughed again. Sharon pressed her lips into a thin line instead. "Hm?"

"Please?"

Beside her, Andy snorted quietly. "Yeah, when that one stops working kid, get with me, I'll teach you the other one." He rose and quickly, easily, maneuvered over his wife and off the bed. He lifted Ian and tossed him over his shoulder.

Sharon rose onto her elbows and shot a look at her husband. "I don't think you should be teaching him _that_."

Andy glanced back, and when she fluttered her lashes at him, he snorted again. "Yeah, I'm starting to wonder where you get it from," he told his son. "Pretty sure, it ain't all me."

She laughed, and after another minute, decided she was ready to follow them. He might just have a point, she thought. Sharon made her way downstairs while Andy took Ian to his room for the moment, and found her older children in the living room, standing around the television. "You know, there are seats. You could sit down. I think by now we're willing to allow it," she teased.

Rusty looked up, eyes wide. "Hey. We were about to come and get you."

She read his expression almost immediately. It was in the awkward way he held himself, the way he fidgeted nervously. The earlier warmth she felt faded, replaced by the cold chill of worry. "What happened?"

Charlotte and Ricky exchanged a look when Rusty didn't answer. "They found him," her daughter said.

For just a moment she didn't breathe. Then Sharon moved over to stand with her children in front of the television. She stepped between Rusty and Charlotte, and without realizing it, her hand slipped in to his. They had the volume turned down, but Sharon reached across Charlotte and took the remote out of Ricky's hand.

"…Breaking news this evening in the case of the kidnapped child of an LAPD police captain. For those of you who have _not_ been following this case, early yesterday evening we received reports that the two-year-old son of members of the LAPD's elite Major Crimes Division was taken from his home after his mother, Captain Sharon Raydor, was assaulted during that incident."

The picture they chose to show was at least a fairly flattering one, she decided. She wore the blue dress with a black blazer, and was standing just inside yellow crime scene tape speaking with Lieutenant Tao. Well, at least she wasn't standing next to Amy, not that she was vain about such things as age. Sharon's lips pursed as they continued to recap the story.

"Since the kidnapping, police have been looking for this man, Daniel Dunn. Reasons behind the kidnapping and assault are unknown at this time, but this is the man that police considered to be armed and dangerous. During the very early hours of this morning, police reported that two-year-old Ian Flynn was found wandering abandoned in Venice Beach and had since been reunited with his parents. The manhunt which continued after the child's recovery continued until only minutes ago. We are told that members of the Major Crimes Division were able to locate Mr. Dunn and have taken him into custody. He was seen by reporters being escorted into LAPD Divisional Headquarters in downtown Los Angeles…"

They broke away to the recorded shot of Daniel being walked through a crowd of reporters, in handcuffs. Sharon drew a shallow breath and wasn't sure if she squeezed Rusty's hand, or if it was him squeezing hers. On the screen, Sanchez and Tao were flanking him, and he'd certainly looked better. His lip was split and there was a bruise on his cheek. Although Julio looked otherwise unruffled, she could see the quiver in his face, and the barely bridled rage that was threatening to break free. It made her wonder how Daniel had come to be bruised, but then, she also knew that if Julio had lost it, even for a moment, he'd be in much worse shape. She also knew that he wouldn't be anywhere near Dunn again. No, she trusted them, implicitly, to see this through. "Where's my phone," she asked quietly.

"I'll get it." Charlotte hurried to the desk in the corner of the room where her mother left it charging earlier.

"Thank you," she murmured, accepting it and sliding a finger across the screen in the same motion. There were several missed calls from Provenza, Sykes and Tao. Then a text, simple and concise, from Sanchez. _We__'__ve got him_. _Stay home! Ma__'__am_. Sharon almost laughed, polite even in writing. She began dialing quickly, even as her eyes tracked back to the television screen. She watched Provenza walking in behind the rest of the team, keeping an eye on them. As she dialed, he looked at his phone, and her brow arched at his sigh before he answered it. "You should be careful how you answer when you're being watched."

"Figured," he grumbled. "What do you care? This is always how I answer you, even in person."

That was true enough. Sharon's teeth scraped across her bottom lip. "You found him," she asked softly.

"Well, you're watching, what do you think," he snarked. "Of course we found him, you doubted us?"

"Not even for an instant." Sharon didn't want to see anymore, she walked away from the television, but not before turning it off. "Go and get Andy," she instructed the kids, and was unsurprised when Rusty moved away to do it. "How did you find him," she asked.

"How do you think? He's an idiot." Sharon didn't have to be watching him to know he was rolling his eyes at her. "He poked his head out long enough to get cash from an ATM, out of his own account. Only the dumbest criminals do that. The minute he did it, the alerts went up. We tracked him back to the sleazy motel he was staying in."

"Good work, Lieutenant." Sharon sighed. "Do I need to be worried about the bruising on his face?"

"He tripped," Provenza deadpanned. "Or rather, Sykes did. You know she gets a bit clumsy in her eagerness sometimes," he drawled, and she could almost _hear_ the smirk. "She was taking him to the car, next thing I know, he's falling over. All very accidental of course."

"_Amy_?" At that, Sharon was truly surprised. Of course she suspected Julio, or even one of the uniforms. Maybe even Julio _and_ the uniforms. Never Amy. "I see," Sharon decided to let it go, to allow him to handle it. She was hardly objective anyway. "I'll update Andy, you'll… keep me posted?"

"As much as I can," he promised with a sigh. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get inside. We have an idiot scumbag to question," he drawled, in an almost perfect imitation of his partner. "Rios is on her way over."

Sharon's brows shot up in a bit of alarm. "Hobbs was busy?"

"No," he said slowly. "I asked for Rios. Hobbs is good, don't get me wrong. She's probably my favorite, but… I didn't want finesse. I wanted a bulldog."

"Oh." Sharon didn't know what to say to that, and almost snickered. "Yes, well," she cleared her throat. "Let me know how that turns out, Lieutenant. Good luck."

"You can believe that I will." Provenza hung up before she could say anymore.

Sharon shook her head. She glanced up when Andy came down the stairs, looking concerned, and a bit furious. "They've got him."

"The kid said." His brows drew together in a deep scowl. "What happened?"

"He got stupid," she said. "Used his debit card at an ATM. They've got Rios." It was the abridged version, very abridged, but he was usually thankful for that.

"Yeah, but he's in custody." He almost didn't believe it. Andy moved to her side and folded his arms around her, holding her close. "Rios will deal," he said against her ear. "She won't put you through a trial. She's learned her lesson. Besides, she likes to deal. She'll get him to agree to the maximum and make him think it was his idea."

"Not if he lawyers up first," She whispered back. "Andy, he may not be _that_ dumb. He isn't going to let us—"

"Then we go to trial," he said. "But they aren't going to let that happen. No one wants to put you or Rusty through that. They'll deal, trust them."

"I do." She leaned in to his body, into his warmth. "It's really almost over."

"Really, Sharon. Don't worry." Rusty stood nearby, holding Ian. "The last thing Emma wants is to have to deal with you or I being witnesses or in anyway involved in one of her trials again. _Ever_."

Sharon lifted her head and looked at him. She chuckled, partly relief, and mainly because she knew he was right. "I suppose she doesn't." She studied her boy, and could see that he was still a bit frayed around the edges. He didn't seem ready to talk about it yet, though. He would come to her when he was, she knew. "Well, since there is nothing that we can do about it," she decided. "Let's just not worry about it right now. We'll worry about it when we know what we're dealing with. Until then, what about dinner?"

"Chicken," Ricky said. "I have the grill going. And that vegetable thing that Andy likes. Rusty was going to make it."

"With my wild, rosemary rice," Charlotte said. "We were just about to get started." She shrugged. "We didn't want to wake you."

"Ah, so nice when they conspire to burn the house down," Andy drawled.

Charlotte huffed at him. "One little grease fire. You act like none of us can cook."

"Oh, you can all cook just fine," he pointed out. "Its when you do it together that scares the hell out of me. You get too wrapped up in torment the sibling."

Rusty and Ricky looked at each other and shrugged. He had a point. Charlotte, however, was too much like Sharon and would argue the point until they were both blue in the face. "You know," Ricky decided. "I think I'm going to see about that chicken right now."

"I think I'm going to help you." Rusty turned on his heel and decided it would be best if he took Ian with him, and did so.

Charlotte's hands were on her hips. Finally, she turned with a huff, flinging her hair behind her. "I'm going with them. You are impossible."

Sharon snorted. "Well, I've been saying that for _years_."

Andy rolled his eyes at her. "You were thinking it," he said, nodding his head toward the kitchen.

"Oh, I still am," she pointed out. "So go chaperone." She waggled her phone at him. "I'm going to call Gavin and have him get downtown. Just in case Daniel Dunn starts trying to wriggle his way out of trouble based on our _convincing_ him to sign away his parental rights to stay out of jail."

"Good idea," Andy pointed out, although he didn't really see how it could work in his favor. It was another deal, just like a dozens they'd made. "Just, come running if I yell for the extinguisher."

She smirked at him. "I'll keep that in mind."

Andy looked skyward for a moment to ask for patience before he followed his stepchildren into the kitchen. Already the boys were attempting to get a rise out of Charlotte. "Oy," he muttered. Good thing they were awake, it was a grease fire in the making. Rusty was mostly giving it a half-hearted go. He just wasn't all with them at the moment, although, it was to be expected. Still, Andy had to give it to the kid. A couple of years ago he would have run off, stewed, and caused a scene. Instead, their boy was rolling his eyes at the elder _siblings_ while entertaining the younger. He figured Sharon was probably right, kids were resilient, especially that one.


	12. Chapter 12

Everything We Are - Chapter 12

by Kadi

Rated: M

Disclaimer: It's not my sandbox, I'm only visiting for a time.

* * *

"I need you to tell me that you have more than just your Captain's word that our suspect took her child." Emma Rios announced her presence with that proclamation. She stood near Lieutenant Provenza's desk and her gaze swept the Murder Room. Being assigned to a Major Crimes case was not unheard of, but being requested by name, that was rare indeed. They usually asked for Hobbs, and she was sent over if the senior DDA was otherwise occupied. Emma walked over and dropped her bag in the empty chair near the Lieutenant's desk. "Before I go into an interview with this man, I need to know what kind of evidence we have? Other than an injured woman's statement."

Immediate annoyance, that was what Provenza felt when that woman was in his general vicinity. Just the sound of her voice could make the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end and his teeth clench. His eyes rolled toward her. "Besides the Captain's eye witness statement," he stated slowly, and a bit drolly, "we also have Dunn's prints in the house. They're on the front door and the baby gate he opened as he walked through the foyer."

"That's great, it's not evidence, what else?" Emma looked around the room, brows lifted.

"What do you mean," the Lieutenant asked carefully, "that it's _not_ evidence? Of course it's evidence. We have the man's prints _in_ the house!"

Emma sighed softly. She looked down at him and tried to keep a lid on her own impatience and annoyance when it came to these people. "I understand that, Lieutenant. But you have to look at this as a jury or a judge would. This suspect isn't just some guy off the street that walked into a nice lady's house and took her kid." Her hand found her hip and while she gestured with her other hand. "This man in your custody has a history with your Captain, with all of you. We have a potentially _huge_ conflict of interest here." She held up her hand when she could see that all of them were about to protest. "The child taken belongs to your Captain. The father of that child, her husband, is another member of this team, and your partner," she pointed out to Provenza. "Then we have the suspect, who just happens to be the biological father of the young man who is your Captain's former ward, and as I recall it, quite close to many of you. This department has taken great pains to keep this young man safe, and if it is brought up, there could be issues with the fact that this man was... _convinced_... that he should sign away his parental rights to said young man. Mister Dunn and his lawyer could argue that he has been in that house for completely innocuous reasons, such as to visit his biological son. Look," she tossed her hair over her shoulder. "I'm not saying that I don't believe what happened. I do. I also believe that Mister Dunn deserves the maximum that I can get for him, but this isn't going to be easy."

"If it were easy," Sanchez stated quietly, "You wouldn't be here." He looked up at her through hooded eyes.

Tao had turned his chair toward them, and leaned forward, elbows braced against his knees. "We impounded his car. It's down in the print shed. We're pulling any signs that the Captain's son was in that car."

Sanchez drummed his fingers against his desk. "There was no child seat in his car, or in the motel room where he was found. If we find evidence Ian was in the car, we can pull the child seats from the Flynn home. Check them for his prints. They have three. One each in their cars, and Rusty has a third."

"We also have the gun," Provenza stated. "If he hasn't cleaned it yet, we may be able to pull DNA evidence." He leaned forward against his desk, fixing her with a hard stare. "The captain was struck so hard that not only was she concussed, but he left her bleeding on her kitchen floor."

"That takes care of the evidence," Rios pointed out. "Now we need to deal with the conflict of interest. He hasn't lawyered up yet, but once we does, it's going to become that much harder to make a deal, and believe me, we _want_ to deal. The last thing we need is to go to trial and have a jury questioning his motives and whether or not this man was in _anyway_ railroaded by this department. I'm not saying that I believe he was-" She was quick to add. "I saw the pictures. I know the history. The bigger question that should be asked is what this department thought it was doing keeping him out of jail to begin with, but I can argue that. The emotional stability of the child was called into question and it was determined that he was already facing one trial, had already been abandoned by one parent - twice, and was now facing the possibility of testifying against his biological father for assault. That I've got. No problem. The rest is... a little murkier."

"Then why don't you tell us how you want to proceed," Sanchez stated.

Emma's smile was slow, but calculating. "I can get this guy on aggravated kidnapping, and I get him for twenty-five to life. To do that, I need every one of you to recuse yourselves from this case. You got him, he's in custody, now go away." She held up a hand, because Sanchez at least was about to launch out of his chair on a tirade. "I get it, I do. These are you people. Which is exactly why I need all of you to step away from this. Or at least, give the appearance. You do not touch a single piece of evidence. We're transferring this case to your SIS division. They will handle it from here. Internal Affairs in conjunction with the District Attorney's office will overlook the remainder of the investigation and the deal process." She paused. "I already have Chief Taylor's approval. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that _this_ isn't a negotiation."

Provenza scowled at her. This was not what he had in mind. "I don't think you understand," he said calmly. "They are trusting us to see this through. This guy stole their child, and you expect us to just _let_ you hand it off to another division?"

"I do," she told him. "Which is why you asked for me. How much are your friends going to thank you when the man who stole their child gets off on a technicality?"

"She's right." Sanchez was staring at his desk. He didn't want to admit it, which is why the words almost stuck in his throat. He looked up at the others. "She's right, sir," he repeated. "If Dunn gets off, on some stupid technicality, because of us? How do we look the Captain and Lieutenant Flynn in the eye?" In his lap, his hands clenched into fists. "How do we look at Ian if we let the guy who took him away from his mom and left him all alone in a strange place gets to go free?" Julio stood up and reached for his jacket. "It's not going to be on me."

At his desk, Tao was nodding slowly. "She has a point. We're too close."

"I'm not leaving until he makes his deal," Provenza stated. He held up a hand, pointed at her. "I will recuse myself, but that doesn't mean I have to leave. I want this done _right_. Even if that means supervising it all myself."

"Why am I not surprised." Emma folded her arms across her chest and rolled her eyes at him. "I accept. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an interview to conduct."

In the end, they all waited until a solution was reached. They had to hand it to Rios, she was a bulldog. Crowded around the monitors in the electronics room, they'd all watched. She managed to tie Daniel into so many knots that every time it looked as though he was about to ask for a lawyer, she confused him further. The SIS supervising officer, a Lieutenant Donaldson joined her, while Agent Howard stood near the door. It presented an imposing scene, both were tall men, and neither looked very pleasant.

The intimidation was subtle, however. Anyone watching the video of the interview could not state that they'd gone out of their way. Emma simply kept firing questions at him. While she worked, results came back on prints from his car. DNA from his gun would take longer, but the blood found on it was a type match to the Captain. Once she got him to admit to hitting her, he began to fold.

Daniel admitted to taking Ian. Tao and Provenza had to flank Sanchez to keep him in the electronics room when Dunn had said he didn't want _that bitch_ ruining another young boy for his real parents. To abandoning him in Venice Beach, he'd gotten nervous after the Amber Alert was issued. He panicked, and besides, the kid wouldn't shut up. He kept crying for his mother.

He admitted to all of it, and then Emma went in for the kill. They got the pleasure of watching Dunn's face fall when she explained that Ian _was_ the Captain's son. That she had remarried and she and her new husband had a child together, although unexpectedly, quite happily. Her almost cheerfulness at pointing out little boutiques where she had suggested the Captain could shop for maternity clothes was a bit disturbing, but not only to the team. Dunn was sinking further and further into his chair.

When she was finished, Dunn was asking for the twenty-five to life she had on the table. He didn't want to go to trial. He didn't want to risk it.

He took his deal. It was done. It was _over_. At least… this part of it.

Dunn was put back in holding, and the team finally left the station. It was late, the sun had already set by the time they left. Saturday was mostly gone, but they'd managed just over twenty-four hours from kidnapping to deal. They were proud of themselves for that. There was still a cloud hanging over them, however.

They each went home, because it was needed. Sleep would help, but there was something else which was needed. Something unnamed. Provenza considered that as he sent them off. Tao to his wife, Sanchez to his family, and Amy to…wherever she went when she wasn't at work. She didn't speak of her personal life much. The older Lieutenant went home and began thinking of how to put this team back together again.

He was just stepping into his house when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He knew that it was Flynn even before he took it out. "Shouldn't you be spending time with the wife and the mini-you," he said, by way of greeting.

"I have," Flynn said. "I will. Sharon just got off the phone with Taylor, she's taking Ian up for a bath." Andy had walked out onto the back deck to make this call. "So it's over," he stated.

"It is," he sighed as he dropped into his recliner. His body was tired, it ached all over. "He's going away for quite possibly the rest of his life. He'll serve at least fifteen before he comes up for any kind of parole consideration."

"Good," Andy said, somewhat darkly. He would have preferred another outcome, but he would take why he could get.

His partner sighed. "Yeah." He had to agree. This time, at least, the system had worked for them. "How are they," he asked, if a bit hesitantly. Asking about your best friend's kid was one thing, asking about the wife who also happened to be your boss… that got a little awkward.

Andy sigh was heavy. He looked toward the sky. Not for the first time he wished he could see the stars. Instead, all he saw was a glowing darkness, an odd shade of gray. "I think Ian will be okay. He's young. He'll bounce back."

Provenza put his feet up and frowned as he toed off his shoes. "You don't think she will?" He sounded surprised. Flynn had always been the Captain's biggest cheerleader, almost from the day she joined their division.

"I just don't know," Andy admitted quietly. "I'm not even sure that she knows the answer to that yet." He shook his head and leaned against the railing at the far side of the deck. "When she's with us, she's fine. It's when she's alone, or it's just her and Ian that it seems… I don't know what the hell to call it. She's rattled. You know how she is with the kids. We see this kind of thing everyday, you know? We don't expect to go through it. Rusty hasn't spoken to her about any of this yet, and I think that might be part of it. He's dealing, you know, so I think he'll be ready to sit down with her soon. I just…" He sighed again. "Hell."

"It's rare we get them back," Provenza reminded him. "Start with that. Work from there. Other than that…" He didn't know what he could say. He remembered how the Captain was with Rusty throughout the entire Weller ordeal, especially at the end. He could imagine what she was going through now. "Keep her talking," he said. "She does better when she's talking about it," that he remembered too. If she was allowed to linger too long, then she would begin to withdraw. While Rusty was with him, while they had looked for Weller, they'd kept her working. It had helped. She wouldn't be back in the office for at least another week, he knew. _At least_. She would have to be cleared medically, and then the department psychologist would get his hands on her. Hell, the shrink would get his hands on both of them before they could come back. Provenza wouldn't be the least surprised if the entire squad ended up going in front of Behavioral services.

"I'm trying not to crowd her," Andy told him. "She doesn't like it when I hover. It's a fine line with Sharon."

"I can imagine." Provenza rolled his eyes. "You're the one that had to marry her. You couldn't just pay your child support like all the other midlife crisis dads on the planet?"

"Louie." Andy's teeth clenched. "Not now, okay?"

"Fine." He shook his head. "You actually _love_ her, well don't say I didn't warn you. Yeeh gods, man."

Andy closed his eyes. "Yeah, I love her. I'm always going to love her. There's never going to be a day that I don't love her, so can we just, get beyond that finally? I'm worried about my wife."

"Alright, alright." He heard the frustration and figured poking at him about it wasn't wise right now after all. "I'm sure she'll be fine, Flynn. Nothing rattles the Raydor for long. She'll bounce back and be just as annoying to deal with as she always is. Helping yet?"

"Not really," Andy sighed. "But thanks for the attempt. I think it helped just knowing that, you know, this thing with Dunn is wrapped up. He can't come back and try again. Ian slept with us last night, and this afternoon. He's needing to be close by too, but it's felt like… I don't know. If we take our eyes off him for a minute he'll be gone again."

"Not going to happen. The deadbeat is locked up and he's not getting out anytime soon," Provenza settled back in his recliner. "Now, listen to me. The kid isn't going anywhere. He's there, and he's safe. That's what matters, let the rest work itself out… and Andy, by god, go to a meeting."

"Went this morning," he smiled, but it was concern he heard, the genuine kind. "I'll probably go sometime tomorrow too, or Monday. I'm having a hard time being away from them," he said. "I don't want to take my eyes off either of them."

"God you are pathetic," Provenza growled, but with a smile. "We need to get you back to work, and soon. Go kick in a few doors, throw a few suspects around, or I'm going to have to take your man card for good," he teased.

Andy chuckled. "I think Sharon already has it."

"Figures," he grunted in reply.

"Yeah." Andy watched the light in the upstairs bathroom. "Look, you sound pretty beat. I'm going to go. I'll call you tomorrow or something, you can fill me in on all the details. I want the play by play of how Rios stuck it to that son of a bitch."

"I'll let you watch the interview," He promised. "Yeah, go… do something pathetic like kiss the wife. I'm going to sleep."

A devious grin spread across his face. "I'm going to go do a lot more than that with the wife, I think," Andy said. "Later, partner."

Provenza ended the call with a shudder. "Disgusting." He tossed his phone onto the table beside his chair and wriggled down in it. "Pathetic." He chuckled quietly anyway and closed his eyes. It was rare when they got cases with happy endings. He'd take it, and maybe later when he wasn't so tired, he'd think of a way to help alleviate his partner's worries about his wife. After all, what were friends for?


	13. Chapter 13

Everything We Are - Chapter 13

by Kadi

Rated: M

Disclaimer: It's not my sandbox, I'm only visiting for a time.

* * *

By Sunday afternoon the house was quiet. Rusty had gone back to his apartment, and Ricky had gone with him. Charlotte was running errands for her mother, and really the older three just needed to get out of the house. It was understandable. They'd all been cooped up in there for a couple of days. Now that the ordeal seemed to be more or less over, it was time for life to begin settling down again. Dunn had taken the deal, and would go in front of a judge early the next morning. Despite that, there still seemed to be a bit of a cloud hanging over all of them. As though it wasn't quite settled _yet_.

After all of the activity the previous few days, the silence in the house was almost eerie. Andy wandered through, a bottled water in his hand and upon finding the lower level empty, he peeked outside. There was that moment of panic, illogical and irrational though it might be, which swept over him when the emptiness of the house took him back to Friday evening. For just a moment his heart seized again, and a sharp pain moved through his chest. Then he spotted them.

Out beyond the deck, where the yard opened on the other side of the pool, Ian was pushing a large toy truck through his sandbox. His wife sat in a wooden lawn chair near by, hair half pulled back and shades covering her eyes. She was curled in the chair, knees drawn to her chest and arms wrapped around them, as though despite the summer sun, she was still chilled. Andy remained at the door for a moment, just watching. Every once in a while Ian would run back to his mother, holding something new and interesting. He would watch her smile or laugh, and the child ran back to his play. Then her smile slowly melted, faded away. Something twisted inside him, and Andy pushed through the door.

He crossed the deck and moved down the steps. He strode toward them with slow, measured steps. When he reached them, Andy drew another chair nearer to where she sat and dropped into it. Ian was busy burying and uncovering his dinosaurs. Andy glanced at her, squinted against the sunlight. "He seems to be doing alright."

"He does," she agreed quietly. "I'm hoping in a few days, he'll hardly remember at all." They were the ones that would remember. "Are the kids still gone?"

"Yeah," he stretched his legs out in front of him, crossed them at the ankles. "Might be a while, they were going a bit stir crazy."

"I can understand that." Her head tilted, a small smile touched her lips. "When you're young you can't fathom being held down in one place. Now I try to figure out how to get as many errands done in one trip as possible so that I don't have to go out again."

Andy snorted. He felt the same way. "Getting old is hell."

"Indeed." Her lips pursed. Thinking of being young reminded her of another topic. "Jack called," she said, and then shrugged. "I was going to tell you last night, but..." She waved a hand in the air. But then Dunn had been found, and she was ashamed to admit, she'd forgotten.

He grunted, frowned at her. "What did _he_ want?" His annoyance was immediate upon hearing the name. He might have been friendly with the guy once, but things changed.

Sharon tipped her shades up and looked at her husband, a little surprised at his tone. No, Andy didn't particularly appreciate Jack, and Sharon didn't always appreciate his ex-wife either. Still, he was sounding more brusque than usual. "He wanted to check on all of us. He was worried."

"Right." Andy sniffed. "He has a funny way of showing it." The guy hadn't shown hardly an ounce of worry for her or their kids in the thirty years that they were married. Now he was concerned?

She understood his ire, and part of her even agreed. At the same time, Sharon sighed quietly. "Andy." The call had meant something to her, and she wouldn't apologize for that.

He stared at her, eyes narrowing. He saw the hurt in her gaze, but there was something else. That indulgent look she got at times, with all of them, and he was certainly no stranger to it. He recognized it quite well, as though she were putting up with his antics but didn't quite agree. "You're kidding me right," he drawled.

Sharon remained silent. She looked away, let her gaze wander back to Ian. She dropped her shades back over her eyes and drew a breath. She wasn't going to argue with him. She felt the tension coiling in him and chose to ignore it, at least where it concerned Jackson.

"Don't do that," he muttered under his breath. "Do not get all passive aggressive on me."

Her tongue swept over her teeth and Sharon sighed. "I am not going to argue with you about Jack," she said calmly. "He was worried, he called, and whatever else he is or has done, has no bearing on this situation, and really, I appreciate that you would be upset on my behalf but it's none of your business, Andy."

His eyes snapped to her face, they flashed, growing darker. "None of my business?" He asked, growing quieter. "You are my business," he said slowly, deliberately. "It's a little something I like to call marriage, or maybe it was more convenient for you when the husband wasn't in the picture all the time."

"Okay!" Sharon stood up and walked toward the sandbox. She plastered a wide, fake smile on her face and held out her arms for Ian. "I think it's time to get cleaned up and have a nap, don't you buddy?"

He looked up at her and flashed a suitably cute smile. "But I wanna play?"

"We'll play again later, after your nap," she promised. Sharon lifted the boy out of the sandbox and quickly dusted him off, along with his favorite dinosaur toys. Afterward, she picked him up and settled him on her hip. She studiously ignored the simmering Andy behind her and walked toward the house.

Ian's socks and shoes were abandoned on the deck. She took him up to the bath and got him cleaned up before tucking him in for his nap. He wasn't completely willing to go down in his own bed, and it took longer to get him to sleep than was usual, but with some coaxing he went. Sharon picked up the laundry, and gathered other items from the upstairs hampers before she returned to the first floor. Andy was waiting in the living room. She glared at him as she walked past, completing her chore of delivering the clothes to where they needed to be. Only then did she return to the living room. She took her shades off her head, where she had slipped them upon carrying Ian into the house, and tossed them onto the coffee table.

"Alright. You want to fight, let's fight, but before we start I would appreciate if you could tell me what it is that I have done that has _so_ bruised your ego." Her hands found her hips, while her eyes flashed.

"I don't want to fight with you, Sharon." Andy shook his head at her. "But it would be great if you could stop walking around here like a ghost. Since when does Jack call that you don't get worked up because he isn't willing to call your kids? You forgot that he called? Really? Suddenly he's concerned about our son, and I doubt he even bothered to talk to his own."

"Oh my god," she exclaimed, incredulously. "This is about _Jack_?" She stared at him, eyes wide. "We are honestly standing here, right now, arguing about my ex-husband?" It was utterly insane. Of all the things that they could be going on about, that was what he chose? The shoes that he'd tripped over that morning, or that his three favorite ties were still at the cleaners because she forgot to pick them up on Friday. _This_ was his topic of choice? "Andy, you're going to have to help me out here," she said, much more calmly. "I'm a little lost at the moment. If you need to fight, we'll fight." His temper was going to need an outlet, and she could accommodate him. It was only natural given all that they'd been through.

Andy stared at her. The bewildered look in her eyes had his own narrowing. His jaw clenched. He exhaled roughly and shook his head. He ran a hand through his hair. "Maybe you could start with telling me just how damned long you've been having doubts about us? About this?" His hand waved toward the toys strewn around the living room, leaving no doubt of just what _this_ entailed. It had been there, in the back of his mind, since the minute she'd said it. How much of it, he wondered, was terror and doubt, and how much of that was _her_?

The air left her lungs. She staggered back, stricken. Sharon shook her head slowly. "I..." Her voice hitched. She gripped the back of the couch and closed her eyes. "_Andy._" His name was a whisper, barely audible. "It's never been that I doubt _us._ Of course, I love you, but—"

"No, it's just raising a child together that you seem to have an issue with all of a sudden, or has it always been there?" He took a step toward her, but didn't close the gap. His own doubts were raising their ugly head. "Just how damned long has this been going on, Sharon, and why the hell haven't you said anything about it before."

Her eyes flashed, and suddenly it wasn't only his temper that was sparking the room with an electric current. "I have _never_ had an issue with our having Ian. Yes, it terrifies me every day. From the moment that I knew about him, I never once thought about _not_ having him. You know that. What—" She shook her head. "We discussed all of it at length, long before I ever had the amnio, we were going to do this and we weren't going to look back. The question was always whether or not I was going back to work. I have never _not _wanted him. Where is this coming from?" She stared at him incredulously, wondering just where his anger at her was coming from.

Andy leaned over the armchair in front of him, hands braced against its back. "You. It's coming from you," he rumbled, trying very hard to remember that there was a sleeping child upstairs. "You said yourself that you wondered if he was better off with Nicole and Jake."

"Why wouldn't I?" She shook her head at him. "Andy, look at us. We're getting closer to sixty than either of us want to admit, and we're chasing a toddler? It's insane. But it's always going to be insane. My god, yes, _yes_ I wonder if we are doing the right thing. Every day I wonder if keeping Ian with us is what is best for _him_. Andy, _for him_." Her voice hitched and she held up a hand when it looked like he might move. "He is the first thing that I think about every morning, and he is the last thing that I think about every night, how can you ask me that? How dare you stand there and insinuate that I don't want that little boy—"

"What am I supposed to think," He fired back. His eyes flashed. "You've never once mentioned those doubts to me before. We wonder what will happen to him when we're gone, but you've sure as hell never mentioned thinking he was better off somewhere else."

"I don't want him anywhere else," she snapped. "I wouldn't... I'm not..." Sharon shook her head, she couldn't even get the words out and her voice dipped, growing thick. She pressed the fingers of one hand against her lips when the trembled. Breathing was difficult against the sudden, painful lump in her throat. Her chest constricted painfully, and her stomach quivered. "I do sometimes wonder if we're just being selfish," she said, much more quietly. "I wonder that I'm too old, and that the best years of my life are already gone and I'm not what he needs. _Andy_." She gripped the back of the sofa tightly and looked down. "Every time I have to choose between him and something else, and I can't choose him, I doubt myself," she admitted painfully. "When he's sick and I have to ask Rusty or Nicole to watch him because he can't go to daycare and we can't stay home with him, I loathe myself for not being able to choose him," She said quietly. "When he has to sleep in my office until Rusty can pick him up because daycare is closed and we can't go home yet, I ask myself how I could be so devoted to my job, when he needs me more. When my child is eating drive-thru instead of real food, because the idea of coming home and making dinner makes me hurt all over. When all I want to do is pour a glass of wine and crawl into a bath, and I feel guilty because for just a second I'm frustrated that instead it's bath time, story-time, and bedtime," her voice hitched again. "I have doubts about whether or not I'm doing the right thing for him every day. Don't you?"

It was then that the fight went out of him. She worried and she doubted, and she kept pushing through everyday. He rubbed a hand across his forehead and sighed. "Yeah," he said finally. "Yeah, I guess I do." Andy exhaled quietly and looked toward the ceiling. His eyes closed for just a moment. "I guess I really hadn't thought about it like that. Hell, I worry about making the same mistakes again... working too much, spending too little time at home. I never really thought beyond that, I didn't have to. I have you."

"Don't," she pointed at him. "Do _not_ put me on a pedestal, Andy. I am not, and have by no means _ever_ been perfect. He is mine, and he is staying right here, but of course I question it. _Look_ at us! There is more life behind us than in front of us, and... yes, I'll admit it. I'm selfish. I want this, I want all of it, but I do wonder if I am doing the right thing. But..." She shook her head. "It isn't only about Ian. I questioned myself everyday whether or not holding on to Rusty was the right thing to do, or if Emma was right and he would be safer in witness protection. I've lost sleep over whether or not staying married to a man who could care so little about his family was the right example to be setting for my other children. Ricky dates, but never seriously. Charlotte is a cynic when it comes to the very idea of marriage, and I know witnessing the disaster that was my marriage to their father is at the root of that. I just do the best I can," she shrugged. "I don't know any other way to do this."

He closed the distance between them and cupped her head in his hands. "Neither do I." Andy sighed. "Maybe... hell." He shook his head. "It's possible I just took it for granted that we were doing this at all. I think about it. The what and the why, and what will happen after."

"Hm." She tipped her head forward, so that it rested against his chest and drew a deep breath. "It's entirely possible that I took it for granted too. We should have discussed it before. That's my fault. I'm so used to doing this alone..." She chewed on her bottom lip and tipped her head back again. "You're not the only one worried about making the same mistakes… I've been the nagging wife, I know how that story ends." She had been left to raise her children _alone_.

His forehead lowered to hers. He drew a ragged breath. "Never." He drew her close and his arms folded arm around her. "I'm not going anywhere. Not without one hell of a fight."

"And you do like a good fight," she murmured with a small smile.

"I do," he agreed. "Just don't give up," he said, and not for the first time that weekend. "We'll keep finding a way to make this work. Telling me that you're tired and that you're worried isn't nagging. Hell, if one of us is the nagging spouse…"

"I know." She believed that, believed in them. But the mind wasn't always controllable, it went places you would rather it didn't. "I love you," she whispered. "I want this. That has never been the problem. I think it just... hearing my own doubts mixed in with the vitriol that man was spewing, combined with all of it... I'm not perfect, Andy."

"Maybe not." He held her tighter. "You're perfect for me." He felt her hands curl into his shirt, felt her shudder in his arms. He tipped her head back and found her eyes moist. "I'm sorry."

"No," she shook her head. "Don't be. I think..." Sharon looked away for a moment. "That man came into this house and he took more than our child. It's going to take us a while to get it back. Besides... love you, love your temper, right?"

Andy snorted. "I don't know about that. It might be mixed in with those mistakes that I don't want to make again."

"I knew who I was marrying," she told him.

"Oh yeah?" he arched a brow at her. "I thought you did that because I knocked-"

"Andy." She poked his side, her eyes narrowed. Sharon shook her head at him, because he could be so completely ridiculous and she loved him for it. "Are we okay?" They'd argued before, but never like this.

He felt the tremor that ran through her and exhaled quietly. "Yeah." He cupped her face. "We are. Even when it doesn't feel like it. It bothers the hell out of me that you didn't say anything sooner, but I think I get it. I guess I'm just used to you being the solid one." That was the crux of his problem, he realized. Her doubt shook him. He never expected it, not out of her. Maybe he _had_ put her on a pedestal. "I love you," he said.

Her arms curled around his waist and she leaned into him. Needing that warmth, and the solid feeling of him against her. It was a sense of security that they'd lost when Dunn took Ian. It rattled them, and in more ways than just how close they came to losing their son. It had shaken the very foundation upon which they were built, but it couldn't break them. She wouldn't allow it to. She turned her face into his neck and inhaled deeply. "It's because I love you both so much that I worry," she whispered. "It doesn't mean I'm not happy. It doesn't mean that I don't want this, you, him, _us_."

"Same here." He held her more tightly. His cheek rested atop her hair. "Even when you drive me nuts."

"I know the feeling," she said blandly. She leaned back and tipped her face up, kissing him gently. "I'm always going to want you," she said.

"We talked about hiring a nanny," he said gently, "after you went back to work. You weren't comfortable with it then, maybe it's something we should put back on the table. Someone who would be with Ian when he's sick, when we're stuck in the office, and when—"

"_No._" Sharon shook her head at him. "No, Andy. I may question whether I'm doing the right thing for him, but he is _mine_. I won't have another woman raising my child. We may have to reevaluate in the future, as he gets older and we do too, but right now, no. We're not there yet. Let's at least wait until you're on your walker."

It was delivered so easily that he blinked at her. Andy's eyes narrowed. "_My_ walker? Who was hobbling around here for three days because of a teeny little bruise on her—"

"You're older than I am," she pointed out. "With your penchant for fighting, you're bound to end up with a broken hip. I'm sure knee replacement surgery isn't far around the corner, and while we're at it, we should talk about your back." She made a face at him. "You aren't thirty anymore, honey, and I think sometimes you forget that."

"I didn't hear you complaining in the shower the other day," he drawled with a smirk.

"No, my back complained plenty loud for both of us later," she snorted.

Andy drew her to him again. He dropped a kiss to her mouth. "Maybe we should discuss it in more detail. In the shower. We may have done it wrong."

"Hm." She hummed. "Nice try, but no. Not right now anyway. There are a thousand things that need to be done around here, and I don't know how long Ian is going to nap in his own bed."

"Pity." He sighed. "Making up is always the best part of fighting with you." His hand slid down and landed in a playful swat against her hip.

"I'm sure." Her head tilted. "There's just one thing…" Sharon leaned up and kissed him again. "If you ever try to pick a fight with me in front of any of our kids again," she mumbled against his mouth. "I will get the beanbag gun out of the trunk-"

He chuckled quietly, but nodded. "I won't." That was a bad move on his part. He should have waited. "Well, I probably will, but I'll try harder." His temper wasn't always controllable. It was a work in progress.

"Thank you." She tipped her face up, and kissed the tip of his nose before moving away. "Oh, for the record," she drawled, heading toward the laundry room. "Jack asked about you too..."

He looked skyward and sighed. "Woman!" Her chuckle had his eyes narrowing. Andy counted to three and then he followed her. Trouble, his partner told him that she'd be trouble. Good thing he was a big fan of the subject.


	14. Chapter 14

Everything We Are - Chapter 14

by Kadi

Rated: M

Disclaimer: It's not my sandbox, I'm only visiting for a time.

* * *

Rusty came to her on Sunday. Sharon was seated on the deck, carefully observing the goings on in the pool. Rusty dropped into the chair beside hers and tilted his head at the trio that were making all of the noise. Ricky and Charlotte had decided to put the pool to use since they were there and it would be at least another day before either of them went back to their respective homes. Once they were in the water, it had only been a matter of time before Ian wanted to join them. He was a water baby. No one got into the pool without him. Rusty laughed quietly at the high pitched shriek that filled the air when he was tossed from brother to sister.

Charlotte fell back with him, and came up quickly, making a big splash. The kid loved it, but out of the corner of his eye, Rusty saw Sharon tense and grip the arms of her chair for a second, and then relax. She was like that. She winced when Andy tossed him into the air, only to catch him every time, and she laughed because Ian enjoyed it, but there was always that moment where her body tensed. Even now, she was chuckling along beside him.

"Do you ever think, that maybe if I hadn't been such a brat, your life would be a lot quieter?" Rusty glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Like, maybe if I had just gone back to foster care, instead of home with you?"

She glanced at him, wide-eyed and confused for just a moment. It cleared quickly and her face softened. He was ready. Sharon shook her head. "Not even for a second, not in the way that I believe you're asking. I have no regrets, Rusty. Not about that, or about anything else that followed. Sure, we got off to a rough start, you and I. But I think it worked out." Her head tilted and she smiled gently at him. "Rusty, my life changed in a lot of ways when you came into it, and some of them may have happened anyway. Andy and Ian for example, but it wouldn't be complete without you. I do hope that you know that."

"That's what you tell me." He glanced at the pool again and shook his head. "I'd rather be here than pretty much anywhere, but you're not—" Rusty shook his head. "I'm not yo—"

"No." She reached over and touched his hand. "Rusty, _no_." Sharon understood now where his troubled thoughts had taken him. "You're mine," she said simply. "Not by birth, but by choice. It doesn't matter, Rusty, where you go or what you do. You will always be mine. If your mother walked back into your life tomorrow and you chose to make your family with her instead, there'd still be a place waiting for you here. You will always be part of us, honey." Her voice hitched and she looked away, toward the pool. Her jaw clenched, for just a moment, while she swallowed past the emotion tightening her throat. "Nothing else matters," she said more quietly.

Rusty looked down, focused on his knees because he had the same problem. He stared hard at them, blinking until he felt as though the pressure behind his eyes wasn't quite so desperate. "Even when my crazy relatives try to tear it all apart?"

It was asked so quietly, she almost didn't hear it over the playful laughter ringing from the pool. Sharon reached for his hand and gripped it. "Daniel Dunn has nothing to do with you, Rusty. He might have provided the means for your existence, but that did not make him a father. He is a man incapable of taking responsibility for his own failings. A man who needed to make others hurt to make himself feel better. That is no reflection on you, and if anyone should be sorry, it should be me for ever bringing him into your life. I've made a lot of mistakes trying to do what's best for you Rusty, and I can only ask that you bear with me, because I promise it gets better."

"You're kidding right?" He stared at her, eyes wide. "Sharon, I didn't know that there were actual moms that, like, did stuff like you do it until, you know, I came to live with you. Before that, I thought it was just… like… movies and television, and it wasn't _real_. It couldn't be real, because who actually _does_ that! I thought it was all just fake at first, and then it was like you didn't even know you were doing it. Then I had friends, and their moms were like that too, and like, Lieutenant Tao's wife was like that with Kevin." He shook his head. "Where I come from, moms making mistakes, it's… it's just… you know, I think you're doing okay. I just… I feel like, I—"

"Have given me four kids to love," Sharon cut him off again with a warm smile. "I had two kids when we met Rusty. Now I have four, and that is all that matters as far as I am concerned. Honey, I know you feel about what Daniel did. That is what makes you exceptional." She paused for a moment, and then she gave him a watery smile. "And thank you, but Rusty, even with all of our challenges, loving you was never difficult."

He gripped his chair hard, but he nodded. Rusty stared back at her and tried to pick his words carefully. Finally he shook his head. "You're not fired." At her puzzled expression, he managed a small smile. "You told me, that first night. That it was kind of like… when you got good at being a mom, you got fired. You're not fired." He at least still needed her. Even if he didn't know how to say it.

Her mouth made a little 'o' of surprise. She thought back and upon remembering that conversation, Sharon nodded slowly. "Well good," she said, in a voice that had gone thick with emotion. "Because I have no intention of quitting."

"Good." Rusty shifted in his seat. "Me either." He slanted a sideways look at her. He didn't know what would happen if his mom came back, and he did always wonder about that. But she wasn't back. She hadn't tried. His life was different now, and he thought, if she didn't come back… it wouldn't change much. He'd stay where he was. When she reached over and gripped his hand, he let her. "You know," he added after a moment. "I think… it's still kind of new, and really different for me, but that whole dad thing. Can't be easy, but he might be doing okay."

"Hm." Sharon nodded slowly. "I think you could be right." She slanted a look at him and smiled. "Maybe one of these days you'll tell him that. That might be something he would really like to hear."

"Yeah," Rusty agreed. "One day." He flashed a knowing look at her. She'd tell him first, he knew. After two years, they just weren't there yet, he and Flynn. Almost, but they were just a couple of guys that did things at their own pace. It was different with Sharon, easier, for both of them.

"Rutthy! Rutthy!" Ian had spotted him, and from where he was seated atop Ricky's shoulders, he threw his arms up and shouted loudly.

"I'm going to have to go get in there," Rusty observed.

"You are," she agreed. "He's seen you now." Sharon let go of his hand and sat back with a smile. "Go on. We mustn't keep little prince waiting."

"Guess not." Rusty stood up. He took his shirt off and left it on the chair. He didn't toe out of his flip-flops until he reached the edge of the pool. Then he ran around the side and jumped in, his cannonball making a perfectly large splash.

He didn't know, couldn't know, because he never saw it, but the moment he leaped Sharon's hands gripped the arms of her chair tightly and she held her breath. She always did, only to relax again a second later when he resurfaced. She exhaled quietly, and smiled at Ian's loud, happy laughter. Her youngest was tossed from brother to brother, and once Rusty had him, he held on tightly. He wasn't clinging, it wasn't anxiety. It was trust. Ian swung around like a monkey to Rusty's back and his arms wrapped tightly around his neck. His legs went around his middle, and then across the pool they went. Ian laughed, but he held on, never having to fear that he would be dropped or let go of as Rusty swam from one end to the other.

She felt a hand touch her shoulder and she turned her face toward it, so that her cheek brushed his wrist. Sharon didn't need to look up to know that it was Andy. When his thumb reached up and caressed her cheek, her eyes closed for just a moment. She hummed quietly and reached up to curl her hand around his wrist. "Hi."

He was watching from the window. Andy had been about to join her when he saw Rusty drop into the chair beside her. He held back, hoping they'd finally have that talk. They seemed to. There might be more to come later, as they talked more in-depth about all that happened and what would come next, officially, but for the moment… it seemed to be enough. They both looked more relaxed. Andy watched the goings on in the pool for a moment before his gaze dropped to his wife. "Okay?"

"Mmhm." She smiled up at him. "Perfect." Her eyes still glittered brightly. Her shades were in her hair, had been since she sat down. "I was just watching our boys play."

The emphasis she put on it had meaning, and he nodded slowly. "Ah." Their boys. He glanced toward the pool, where Rusty had Ian. Yes, he supposed she was correct. Andy drew her up. "Come here." He drew her down the deck steps, closer to the pool and sat on one of the reclining pool lounges. He tugged her down with him, and sat with her between his legs, her back against his chest. Andy's arms curled around her and his lips dropped to her shoulder once they got comfortable. "Have I mentioned how much I like this?" He grinned as he fingered the strap of the sundress she wore over her own swimsuit. She wouldn't get in while the kids were playing, at least not yet.

"I think you might have," she smiled as her arm curled around his bent knee. She stroked his calf slowly. "Every time I wear it." It was such a simple thing, a little blue sundress that barely hit her knees, but fit comfortably over the two piece that she wore. Not a bikini, god no, not at her age, and not after three children with one of them far more recent than the others. It was a simple pair of well cut, black shorts and a fitted red top. Only her shoulders and much of her back would be bare, as the thin red straps tied behind her back. Andy enjoyed it well enough, and it was modest, chic, and age appropriate, even in her own home.

"Yeah, well, every time you wear it," his lips brushed her bare shoulder again. "I like it." Her bent knees were resting against the inside of his leg, where she sat, leaning slightly to one side so that they both had a good view of the kids. He tucked the skirt around her thighs, but his hand brushed the backside of her calf.

"Behave." She grinned. Her head was resting against his shoulder and she reached for his hand with hers and drew his arm around her to keep it from wandering. His impatient grunt had her chuckling. She gave his hand a light pat. "You can play later."

He sighed. "Yes dear." But a grin was tugging at the corners of his mouth. In the pocket of his khaki shorts, he felt his phone vibrate. Andy drew it out and glanced at the screen.

_Where are you?_

That was Provenza. Andy inclined his head and tapped out with the thumb of one hand _Where are YOU?_

Sharon snickered at the response. _Front door, idiot._

Andy shook his head. "Figures." He didn't want to get up, however. He was entirely too comfortable. Instead, he smirked. _Pool. Use the side gate, jackass. _

"Oh my god, you two." Sharon rolled her eyes at him. "Could you ever communicate like normal people?"

He blinked at her. "What? This is normal," Andy shrugged.

Sharon just sighed. "I'm going to take your word for it." Normal for them perhaps. Even after all these years she found them damned odd.

What surprised Andy was not having his partner show up on their day off, but rather, that he was not alone. When they heard the side gate, Andy glanced over and found Provenza, followed by a few others as they made their procession through the gate and around the deck to where the pool lay. Each of them was carrying a grocery bag, and between Buzz and Sanchez, there was a cooler. Even Tao was with them, although he usually spent Sundays with his wife and Kevin, when he was home from college. Andy tilted his head curiously as the gang came closer.

Sharon exchanged a look with him. "What are they doing?" She asked quietly, so that only he would hear her.

"I have no idea," His hands settled against her hips as he prepared to set her away from him so that he could get up. "What is all this?" He asked, much louder, directing it at his partner.

"Uh, well…" Provenza handed a bag off to Buzz and walked toward them. "We thought that, you know, everyone has had a hell of a weekend… we'd celebrate the closing of a particularly difficult case. We've done that before." He waved his hands at them. "No, now, don't get up, don't get up. We can find our way around."

"Comfort food," Amy announced, holding up two shopping bags. "My grandma used to swear by good food and good company to get you through anything. So we stopped and we've got steaks and vegetables for the Lieutenant of course."

"Drinks." Sanchez nodded his head toward the cooler that he and Buzz were carrying up onto the deck.

"Dessert." Tao held up a plastic container. "Cathy couldn't make it, she's at a garden party this afternoon, and a baby shower this evening. She sends best wishes and good thoughts, and her cake."

"I've had her cake," Andy pointed out for his wife. "It's damned good cake." He shook his head at the others. "You all didn't have to do this…"

Despite being told otherwise, Sharon unfolded herself from Andy's lap and walked toward them. "Really, you didn't. It's your day off, you should be with your families, relaxing… certainly not worrying about us."

"We're not worrying," Julio stated quietly. "And… we are," he added, tossing a small smile at her.

"Right!" Provenza clapped his hands together. "So, let's fire up the grill, because by god if I had to spend three hours helping the idiot who doesn't even eat meat pick it out, I'm going to get some use out of it."

Sharon giggled quietly. It had taken them quite a while to decide on it, and as she recalled, the Lieutenant wasn't exaggerating in the least. "Alright then," she was smiling brightly. "At least let me show you—"

"Ma'am." Amy turned, fixed her with a stern look, or what might have been stern if her eyes hadn't been sparkling so brightly. "We can figure it out. Don't make me body slam you."

They all went silent. Until Sanchez began to snicker. "She'll do it too," he wheezed quietly. "One minute, we're just walking along, next minute… BAM! Guy went down hard. Like, he didn't even know what hit him. It was…it was pretty spectacular."

"Hm." Sharon's brows lifted. Her lips pursed. She clasped her hands in front of her. She felt Andy's hands on her shoulders and could feel him shaking with silent laughter. "I see." Her eyes narrowed while she watched Sykes. The girl's smile slowly faltered and then began to fade. "Amy, we really do need to discuss that," she said at length, voice calm. It was a tone they would recognize, from her FID days. "I am… incredibly disappointed." Sharon sighed. "I mean, we've talked at length before, proper footwear on the job. I simply can't have you wearing heels in the field if you can't walk a straight line. Although, I suppose if you had to fall it was very nice of Mister Dunn to break your fall. Remind me to thank him."

Behind her, Andy snorted and began to laugh at the look on Amy's face. He pressed his forehead against the back of her shoulder while his body shook with it. "Oh god, Amy…"

"Four years," Julio's fists went triumphantly into the air. "It only took four years and _finally,_ she's one of us!"

Tao was nodding slowly. "We have corrupted her." He looked around at the others. "Our work here is complete."

"Oh, I'm sure she still has a few bad habits we can get rid of." Provenza walked up onto the deck. "Now, let's get to work. I'm starving." He tapped Amy's arm with the back of his hand as he walked past and grinned.

Amy turned, shaking her head, to follow the others. "She scared the crap out of me just then."

"Like I said," Provenza chuckled. "Bad habits. Although, we might let her keep that one."

"Definitely." Julio was still snickering. "It was pretty funny."

"Oh shut up." Amy shoved him as she walked past.

They watched them file into the house, headed toward the kitchen with their bounty. Andy kissed the back of her head. "Okay?" He asked quietly. She preferred keeping work and home separate, even if it was fairly difficult to do now.

"Hm." She craned her head back and smiled up at him. "I think so. They probably need it as much as we do."

"Yeah." He leaned down, caught her upturned lips in a soft kiss.

"For crying out loud, Flynn!" Provenza yelled from the house. "I don't care where we are, no body needs to see _that_!"

Andy growled quietly. Then he recalled that it was his damned house and he'd kiss his wife if he wanted to. He looped an arm around her waist and turned her, then he dipped her and planted his mouth on hers in a way that had the kids behind them groaning in disgust.

"I've got twenty bucks he throws his back out," Tao called.

"I'll take that bet," Amy chirped.

"Nah," Julio drawled. "My money's on Flynn."

"I don't know, that is mildly disturbing," Buzz decided.

"Oh gods!" Provenza groaned loudly.

She shook with laughter as she was righted. Sharon rolled her eyes at him. "You are incorrigible."

"Yeah, but that's what you like about me." His brows bobbed. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I have to go and kill my partner."

"Hm." She nodded. "Yes, have fun honey, don't make a mess." Sharon wandered back to the lounge chair to keep an eye on the kids, while Andy jogged up the steps of the deck. She drew her knees to her chest and rested her chin against them. Maybe, sometimes, it wasn't so bad when work followed her home.


	15. Chapter 15

Everything We Are - Chapter 15

by Kadi

Rated: M

Disclaimer: It's not my sandbox, I'm only visiting for a time.

* * *

It was late when Sharon got home. She had gone with Rusty to take Charlotte to the airport. Ricky had flown out early that morning. Her eldest children were returning to their lives, and with the weekend over, having blended into Monday and finally Tuesday, the entire family was leaving the horror of the weekend behind them. It wouldn't leave them completely, not for some time, but they were working at it.

Rusty was going back to work the next day, and Sharon reflected that she should probably send Andy back too, although she had at least another day before she could begin convincing a doctor to release her. She was thinking of that when she entered the house. The lights were dimmed, but she heard the television playing. Sports highlights, of course. She smiled as she made her way into the living room, through the closed baby gate in the foyer.

She found them in the recliner, kicked back and looking entirely too comfortable. Ian lay against his father's chest, sound asleep and Sharon soon realized he wasn't the only one. Andy was snoring quietly, one hand lay draped against his son's back, holding him in place, the other was tucked behind his head. Sharon glanced at her watch and drew her lip between her teeth. They were both completely at rest, and for once, Ian didn't have his fingers tucked in his mouth. Instead, while one arm lay beneath him, he had the fingers of one hand curled loosely in his father's shirt. She didn't have the heart to wake either of them.

Sharon bent and quietly removed her shoes. She held them in one hand as she approached the chair. She pressed the fingers of one hand against her lips and then lightly brushed Ian's hair back from his face. Her baby slept on, so at peace, he noticed nothing. She stood watching them for several long minutes. Was it possible to love anyone more? It was an emotion which warmed her through. When finally she drew away, it was so that her presence wouldn't disturb their quiet time together.

She checked the locks and set the alarm before making her way up the stairs. Once inside her bedroom, she undressed quietly. She ran a bath and sank happily into it. Steam rose, filling the bathroom, along with the light scent of the bath oil that she used. Sharon leaned back and let her eyes close. The house was much quieter with the kids gone, and she ached more keenly for them in those first moments of silence. They were living their lives, however, and she was proud of them. All three of them, and the people that they had become, and were still becoming. She pressed her fingers against her lips when they trembled, she could only hope to witness the same of Ian. In the absence of certainty, they could only do their best to give him enough to be well on his way if he had to do it without them.

A slow, slightly shuddering breath was drawn. _Them_. When had he become so apart of her that she couldn't imagine even a day of her future without him. She could live alone. She had already experienced that, and knew that she could be what her children needed her to be, even without a man at her side. But this man. Sharon ached at the thought of being without him. She could wish that they'd found this sooner, but if wishes were horses… she could only live in the now, knowing that she loved and was loved in return.

She must have drifted for a while. She started slightly at the feel of a hand against her leg. Her eyes fluttered open and a smile curved her lips at the sight of her husband kneeling beside the tub. The water had gone lukewarm, but when she shivered, it wasn't from the lower temperature. It was the fingers gently caressing the inside of her calf. He was smiling down at her, and there was a softness in his gaze that few ever witnessed. He could be so rash, so hot-tempered, and even approaching sixty, he was quick to act first and think second. Those who questioned _them_ didn't see him as she did. They remembered the temper, the playboy, and the troublemaker. They had never watched him hold a child with such gentleness that the heart threatened to burst at the sight. When his other hand came up to brush a lock of hair away from her face, she trailed her fingers along his forearm in a light caress. "Ian?"

"Tucked into his bed." His thumb stroked her temple. "Hardly even moved."

She hummed quietly. Their gazes remained locked. "Good," she said quietly. "You were both out. I didn't want to wake you."

It was his turn to hum. "I had the same thought. If the water were warmer, I wouldn't have." His fingers stroked the back of her calf, his thumb swept the inside of her knee. He watched the color of her eyes darken. The gold in the green became brighter. "Ready to get out?"

She nodded quietly, and took his hand when he offered it. She stood while he reached for the plug. Sharon smiled, the expression full of affection. His eyes never dipped below her face, even when he drew the towel around her as she stepped out onto the soft rug beside the tub. His hand caressed the length of her arm as he drew away, and she watched him turn to the vanity and lift the bottle of lightly scented lotion she used after bathing. Sharon walked past him into the bedroom and drew a nightgown from the bureau. She draped it across the foot of the bed, and stood, waiting quietly.

He rubbed the lotion between his hands to warm it, and then lightly traced his hands across her shoulders. Her skin was smooth beneath his hands, and his touch gentle as he rubbed it into her shoulders and upper arms. As he moved down her back, he watched the towel slowly move lower. When she shivered as his finger traced the length of her spine, his jaw clenched. He fought for control, even at the hitch in her breathing. The towel fell to pool at her feet when he turned her. His hands moved along her arms, while he watched her face. She was looking back at him, face relaxed, a smile at her lips.

When he prompted her to sit, she did. Andy knelt before her and drew the towel down her legs, drying them. Then he reached for the lotion again and paid careful attention to both, first one and then the other. With his task complete, he stood. He reached for the nightgown and stepped back, holding it for her.

Sharon rose in front of him and reached for it. She tugged the soft material out of his hands and let it fall back to lay on the bottom corner of the bed. She stepped forward, until she was close enough to feel the warmth radiating off of him. She felt the muscles bunching beneath her hands as she ran them up his chest. His eyes had grown dark, and she watched the muscles of his jaw twitch when she drew her hands back down and caught the hem of his red pullover. Her fingers skirted his sides as she drew it up, and knowing her intent, his arms lifted and it was tossed aside.

They continued to watch one another, even as her hands slid down the bare warmth of his chest to rest at the clasp of his jeans. She undid them slowly, and they both drew a breath as she lowered the zipper. His eyes flashed, and she felt him shudder. Her thumbs caught the edge of his boxer-briefs and she drew and the denim down the long length of his legs. He stepped out of them and they were kicked aside. They stood, entirely bare, and not quite touching, with scant centimeters between them.

The light caress of her fingers against the outside of his thighs made him shake with need. The evidence of that need strained toward her. When her nails scoured lightly over his hips as she drew her hands up his body, he groaned quietly. She seemed in no hurry, and her hands moved slowly up his chest until she wound them around his neck. His cupped her sides, his thumbs brushed the undersides of her breasts and her lips parted in a quiet gasp. His fingertips barely touched her as he slipped his hands to her back, and gently drew her against him.

Without her heels, she had to raise up onto the balls of her feet to kiss him. She tipped her face toward him as one of his hands moved to her lower back. The other came up to cup the back of her head. Their lips were barely brushing, breaths mingling, eyes still locked. Sharon shivered against him, from the intensity of the gaze. His name formed a quiet, ragged sigh on her lips. Their noses brushed at the answering nuzzle from him. "Love you," she whispered.

"Always," he rumbled, in a voice thick and ragged with emotion. He lifted her against him and moved the two steps to the bed behind her. His knees sank into the mattress, and she slid slowly back as he crawled up the length of her.

It might not be perfect, their aging bodies and stressful lives. The years which lay beyond them might be few, and uncertain. They were marked with scars, emotional and physical. They had that moment; they had right now. They had a quiet house and a sleeping child. They had each other. If they could fill those moments with enough love to last the rest of their lives, then it was enough. It was everything.

_~FIN_


End file.
